The Final Binding
by SkyStrider
Summary: Summary: Life has settled a little for the Tendos and the Onos, but it doesn't stay that way. Shampoo throws a knife at Ranma that he catches, but it starts a new chain of events including the disbanding of the Fiancée Brigade. In the end, two teams race through the Spiritual and Physical worlds to save an innocent from Hell – and it's not Ranma's (or Akane's) soul on the line!
1. Just Another Morning

The usual disclaimer: Ranma ½ is a trademark of Rumiko Takahashi and VIZ Communications, and its characters have been borrowed without permission. This story was written for non-commercial purposes only.

While this is story is part of the "Kasumi's Fate" ("Bindings") Continuum, it's not necessary to have read any of the previous stories. You do need to know a few things though:

(1) Ranma and Akane are happily engaged now (although they are still waiting on the ring).

(2) Kasumi and Tofu are engaged and due to be married within two months.

(3) Tofu is a very powerful mage. He's also part Kitsune through his mother, Kin Ono. Kin is half-Kitsune. Tofu also works for a mysterious group called "The Council" and leads a team of spies/mercenaries on an unmentioned mission in Nerima. The Council (and their enemy, Henna) are not featured in this story though.

(4) The government of Japan believes (falsely) that Ranma's sire is Tofu's deceased brother (a very long story). Ranma has been formally adopted by Mrs. Ono and is now legally Tofu's brother. Tofu is effectively Ranma's guardian now. Ranma lives with Tofu at the Clinic, but the two spend most of their free time at the Tendo Dojo.

(5) Nodoka is (and still considered to be) Ranma's mother and her marriage to Genma has been annulled. Genma permanently resides in the Nerima zoo and is out-of-the-picture. Officially, Nodoka is recovering from an extended mental illness and the Tendos are her guardians. Again, this is what the Judicial System believes – the truth of the matter is she just likes staying with the Tendos and they like having her there. She and Soun treat each other as brother and sister and the Tendo daughters still treat her as their aunt.

(6) Ranma, Akane, and Ryoga are mages in-training (as well as Martial Artists). Ranma is a Wind Mage, Ryoga is an Earth Mage, and Akane is a Fire Mage (same as Tofu). They are also the Guardians of three World Elemental spirits who share "spiritual space" with them. None of the spirits have been named yet, although the Wind Spirit inside of Ranma has been introduced in previous stories and has proven to have a mischievous streak.

* * *

><p>Other characters in the story (besides the Ranma ½ cast):<p>

(1) Mrs. Chie Shimizu is Dr. Tofu's office manager. This middle-age woman is a good friend of Kasumi (as well as the rest of the extended family) and is one of the biggest gossips in Nerima.

(2) Shizuka Jouda is Kasumi's Tai Chi instructor. She's a tough and implacable warrior who loves children, especially the children of her deceased rival and best friend, Kimiko Tendo (even if the "children" are getting up there in years). She's been involved in Kasumi's life off-stage for nearly a decade now.

(3) Hideo Jouda is Shizuka's husband. He runs a florist shop in the same building as her dojo. He's a tall, good natured man, with endless patience – especially for his stubborn wife. He's also a very talented Earth mage as well (he's Ryoga's Arcane teacher).

(4) Dr. Isamu Ando is a doctor who works for Dr. Tofu. He's the doctor who takes over when Tofu is on the road. A bright man with a lot to learn about people – and an arrogant streak that just begs for a beating.

(5) Daran Hawk is an old friend of Tofu who possesses no supernatural abilities, but does possess a number of interesting magical and technical artifacts. While he looks (and dresses) like Indiana Jones with dark skin, he is a spy/researcher whose expertise is dealing with the supernatural. He currently serves the mysterious Council and Dr. Tofu is his Team Leader. He also does a good James Bond imitation.

(6) Ciren Blake is a tall blond athletic woman who is a master archer (her preferred weapon) as well as a marksman (the rifle is her second favorite weapon). She is also a talented Martial Artist (even by Nerima standards) and trained in swordsmanship. She doesn't have much of a sense of humor (due to a bitter childhood) although she has learned to return the give-and-take of her teammates and is patient with the young and inexperienced, despite her hot temper. She is a mechanic, a pilot, and a race car driver. She currently serves the mysterious Council and Dr. Tofu is her Team Leader. She is half-human (you have to figure out the other half).

(7) Police Sergeant Hiroaki Imia is the head of one of the local police stations. He was introduced in "To Serve and Protect in Nerima". He's a large man that some might characterize as over-weight. Pushing him into a fight though would be a mistake – he's one of Nerima's Martial Artists with all that entails.

(8) Police Inspector Shoichi Ojima is Imia's boss. He possesses the Sight which allows to him See true guilt or innocence (he loathed Genma after one glance). For the longest time, he couldn't turn the Sight off, which forced him to be a very driven man in the pursuit of Justice. Doctor Tofu helped him control his "gift" after the events in "The Destruction of Ranma Saotome." Now he's still a very driven man, but he can also get a good night's sleep. He's a very lean man of average height with a no nonsense attitude. While he believes in Justice, he's not above bending the rules.

(9) Tomo is a young, full-blooded Kitsune. The Kitsune Elders have assigned him to help Dr. Tofu who is his cousin (although one of many, so that is not so remarkable). Tomo appears to be the equivalent to a 12-year old human with the exception of the fox tail, ears, and fur. He is very much the typical Kitsune prankster, but has a fondness for the Tendos and Ranma (whether he'll admit it or not). His magic ability is above average for his age, which is why the Elders put him to work.

Other characters will be mentioned in passing, but they are not important to the story.

* * *

><p>One other note: Don't confuse "Spirit Foxes" (Kitsune) with "Spirit Dogs" (Inugami) or "Spirit Wolves" (Makami). None of them like being compared to the other. Young foxes are "kits"; young dogs are "pups"; and young wolves are "cubs" (although "pups" is used in the USA for the last one too). Just so we are clear, Ranma is very knowledgeable about the distinction – his use of the terminology is not accidental, so please don't send me corrections about it.<p>

Onwards...

* * *

><p>Chapter 1: Just Another Morning<p>

WHAM!

Ranma allowed one eye to open. All he could see was his blankets laying under him over a large flat surface. Just beyond where the blankets ended, he could see the wall rising up. Given that his blankets should have been over him and he did actually have a bed these days, obviously something was up. As he rolled onto his back, he noticed that his bed was currently on the ceiling a few meters above him. Apparently, so was his carpeted floor. The young man sighed. Yes, something was indeed up, and it appeared to be him.

Ranma lay thinking on the ceiling in his room at the Ono Clinic's attached residence. Today was one of those Saturdays where it was Doctor Ando's turn to run the clinic. This meant that Doctor Tofu Ono, the senior doctor at the clinic and Ranma's brother/uncle, had a little more time to himself this morning, especially since this dual-role individual was an early riser. Unfortunately, since the individual in question was part Kitsune, this was usually a bad thing – while "idle hands may be the devil's workshop" (an expression Ranma read in his English book), idle paws were infinitely worse.

Tofu was trying to train Ranma to respond to an alarm clock, but that wasn't going very well. On normal mornings, when they were both expected to be over at the Tendos' for an early breakfast, Tofu would set Ranma's alarm, but the young man would just turn the thing off in his sleep (sometimes rather violently – the current clock was made of titanium steel). Tofu would then have to issue a wake-up call. If the Doc was in a hurry, it would be a bucket of cold water. It was quick and to the point, but Tofu felt it lacked style, so he tried to arrange for more elaborate wake-up calls.

The high school all-female cheerleading squad had been a disaster. While they had woken Ranma up quickly, they also tried to trap him in his room and Ranma ended up diving out the window. When Akane found out, Ranma's fiancée had flown into a rage, but she lately had gotten into the habit of letting Ranma talk before she killed him. As a result, the blue-black haired firecracker had given Tofu a pulled kick to his stomach to catch him off-guard and a hard kick to his backside that launched him into the koi pond. While Tofu was an expert at martial arts and had known the young woman for much of her life, even he didn't account for how fast Akane could go critical – much to his chagrin. Ranma, on the other hand, had gotten off with a mild dope-slap and a warning that he'd had better not have enjoyed the attention (he hadn't). Tofu made a note not to involve females from here-on-in. The doctor also made a note about trying to curb Akane's temper further. Admittedly, she was toning things down – it had taken Tofu all of half a minute to shake it off (much longer to dry off though).

Whereas the stereo playing a symphony at full volume had been useless, the marching band playing under Ranma's room was much more effective. Mimicking Ryoga's "DIE RANMA!" yell didn't work although using Akane's voice did. For that matter, anything in Akane's voice (even "Good Morning") worked. However, actually having Akane wake him could backfire badly, especially on a weekend – they had missed one Saturday class because Ranma convinced her snuggling was a better use of their time. Kasumi had tried to scold the two for their truancy, but her heart hadn't been in it. It also didn't help that Ranma's mother, Nodoka, couldn't quite suppress her smile. Not even their teacher, Miss Hinako, had really punished them; instead, the woman-child had used the absence as an excuse to spend Sunday at the dojo. She had Ranma and Akane make up their work (with a little extra thrown in) and then spent the rest of the time playing video games with them. Ranma had needled Tofu by saying the doctor could save a lot of trouble by just having the alarm clock play a recording of Akane's voice. However, Ranma knew Tofu would consider that as "giving in" – it was the buzzer or nothing.

Occasionally, Tofu used out-and-out magic, which brought Ranma to today's stunt. Ranma ran over the Arcane lessons his Sensei (i.e. Tofu) had been teaching him to reason out how to get right-side up again. "This has to be an area effect spell," the shape-changer thought. "He cannot enchant me to defy gravity indefinitely – the actual energy required would be too great. If I leave the room, I should revert."

Ranma stood up and walked across the ceiling to the door of his room. Despite his upside-down stance, reaching the door handle was easy enough, but the door was locked (despite the fact it didn't have a lock). "Figures," he thought. "That would be too easy. I suppose I could bust down the door (or the wall for that matter), but he'd make me pay for the repairs. The challenge is to get out without breaking anything, including my bank account. That leaves the window."

The young man walked across to the sole window in his room. He kicked the blankets out of the way – enchanting them had been a nice touch – and then contemplated the pull-down shade. He reached up and gave the shade a tug so it rolled up (or down in Ranma's case). He removed the shade and watched it drop up to the floor. When he looked out the second story window, he saw his adversary sitting at a patio table in the yard reading the paper with his back to the window, drinking a cup of coffee. Ranma bent down and unlocked the window, and then slid the upper (lower) window down (up). He stuck his head out the window only to have a moment of strong vertigo. The spell definitely ended at the boundary of the room. As soon as he leaped out the window, up and down would sort themselves out immediately. Ranma brought his head back into the room, but not before he yelled out: "You only think you're funny!" Tofu seemed to be laughing silently at the remark.

Ranma walked away from the open window across the ceiling. Then he turned and ran at the window diving out and towards the sky. As he cleared the window and felt gravity re-assert itself fully, his foot lashed out and hit the upper frame, giving himself enough leverage to spin. When his body was partially facing the ground, he let loose a ball of chi – just enough to cause a little pain (although the Doc was probably shielding). To Ranma's complete surprise, the ball smashed into Tofu and the table, causing both to vanish altogether. "Ah crap!" Ranma yelled silently. "It's an illusion!" Ranma hit the ground hard where the table had been.

Ranma sprang to his feet as someone approached and tossed a bo staff to him. "You know, Grasshopper," Tofu said with a smirk. "Sooner or later, it's going to occur to your subconscious that responding to the buzzer is easier."

"But not nearly as interesting, Puppy!" Ranma shot back as he snatched the staff out of the air and attacked (after verifying that the staff was a not a trick).

Now began the second challenge of the morning – wiping that smirk off of Tofu's face. The two men immediately began sparring viciously. Obviously, Ranma must have slept past 8AM, or Tofu would never have started the battle (both men tried to be considerate of the neighbors – the neighboring houses were much closer to the clinic than those next to the dojo). This was an Anything Goes battle, with one restriction – don't alarm the neighbors. While they were exchanging physical blows, Ranma and Tofu were also exchanging invisible arcane blows as well. Unfortunately, while Ranma was better than Tofu at a straight martial arts battle, the Doc was much better at magic. Despite Ranma's rapid learning, the young man was still the apprentice.

Eventually, Tofu's watch rang and they both stopped and ran through a few katas together to cool down. Ranma had to admit to himself that he was relatively worse for the wear – something that annoyed him greatly. It was nothing a shower couldn't fix, and Tofu wasn't unscathed, but this session went to Tofu (not that Ranma would ever admit that out loud). As they rose, Ranma nodded to his uncle/brother and then ran to get his stuff.

* * *

><p>Ranma was still annoyed when the two men walked to the dojo. Both of them planned on getting cleaned up there this morning. Tofu looked at Ranma and asked: "Have we learned a little humility yet?"<p>

"Dream on, dog breath," Ranma shot back in a hushed voice so not to give away secrets. "I will get you yet."

"I ended my apprenticeship over a hundred and twenty-five years ago. I've been learning ever since. You have a ways to go, Apprentice," Tofu grinned back at him.

"We'll see. I'm a much faster learner," Ranma smirked.

Tofu chuckled. "Can we shelve this for another day?"

"Deal," Ranma said. After a few moments, he added grudgingly: "Sensei."

Tofu knew that when Ranma uttered the word 'Sensei', the battle was over for the day. Ranma would never call anyone "master", but he did acknowledge a handful of people as "Elder/Teacher" (even Happosai – if the old man was behaving himself). Ranma also didn't chafe at the word "apprentice" – he knew he had a ways to go in the magic department. "Grasshopper" sent Ranma through the roof though for some reason and was the quickest way to provoke the young man (or woman).

"Still, Ranma isn't joking about that 'fast learner' comment," Tofu reflected silently. "By the time I was Ranma's age, I had eight years of practice, and I wasn't as knowledgeable as he is now. This is despite the fact that Ranma has only had six months of instruction and that the shape-changer is sheltering a major Power – something that would normally block any sort of magic." The part-Kitsune grinned to himself then. "I better get the lessons into him while I can. Same with Akane – another fast learner."

Out loud, Tofu said "I never got a chance to ask you yesterday – how did the math test go?"

"An easy 'B'," Ranma answered. "Maybe an 'A'."

Tofu nodded. There was no point leaning too hard on the lad. Ranma had enough on his plate. A 'B' average would get him into the colleges Miss Hinako was pushing, so long as Ranma did well on the entrance exam. Tofu knew the lad was very bright, so it probably wouldn't be an issue.

As they neared the dojo, Tofu was about to ask about some of the other courses when Ranma suddenly spun and crouched down somewhat. He braced himself as a blue-black haired missile caught him about the chest. Ranma absorbed the impact with a grunt and a smile. "Good morning, Tomboy," the pig-tailed man teased.

Tofu hid his surprise – the doctor never felt anything since he wasn't the target of the 'attack.' He looked at the smiling short-haired young lady; Akane had a tendency to smile more these days (and 'Yes', she was cute when she smiled). Akane was in her jogging clothes. Obviously, she had slept in this morning as well, figuring that Ranma and Tofu would hold one of their infrequent morning sparring sessions. "Good morning, dummy," she returned with good humor. Both the teenagers straighten up and gave each other a kiss.

"Good morning, Miss Tendo," Tofu said after he figured the kiss had gone on long enough. Tofu wasn't in that much of a hurry, but he didn't want to be waiting all day for the teenagers to remember they were in the middle of the street.

"Good morning, Doctor," Akane replied after the couple broke their kiss. "I see everyone slept in this morning."

"Seemed like the thing to do," Tofu said with a shrug. "Did your father ever go to bed?"

"Auntie said he was still up this morning being irritable when she got up," Akane answered. "Kasumi made a point of singing loudly enough to keep him at a distance. Nabiki downed two cups of coffee and then joined her. Are you sure this is good for him?"

"Cigarettes are horrible things. They are addictive as hell; that's one of the reasons he is suffering so badly," Tofu stated. "They are also wrecking his lungs. He's not at the point of no return yet, but he's getting close – he's not healing as fast as he use to."

Akane just shrugged her shoulders and said: "Well, I believe you, but I'm not sure he does." The three of then resumed their walk toward the dojo. Akane and Ranma each had their arms about the other's waist. Akane continued: "He just accepted your challenge to get you to stop tampering with his cigarettes."

* * *

><p>Tofu wanted his family (and his extended family) to be as healthy as possible. Akane and Ranma were easy – the teenagers were athletes in the purest sense of the word and treated their bodies accordingly: no drugs (except the occasional cola), no alcohol. Their worst indiscretion involved ice cream which they had maybe once or twice a week and the occasional sweet that they burned off easily. Kasumi treated good nutrition as a virtue and made sure she (and the family) ate healthy. Nodoka was a little too fond of sweet desserts, but knew it and strove for moderation. She had also started Tai Chi lessons with Kasumi, Akari, and about half a dozen other women at Tofu's careful prompting.<p>

Nabiki was addicted to caffeine and was adamantly refusing to change. The drug was too easy to obtain and Tofu couldn't watch her every minute. Any effort he made was easily defeated. If he started making headway, she struck back with pranks or untimely interrupting his "alone time" with Kasumi. The best Tofu could get was a truce – she agreed to no cigarettes or any other drugs (including alcohol) and agreed to hit the college gym twice a week (all of which she was already doing). He had to agree to back off, which he did. However, he thought she was secretly pleased that he considered her worth worrying about. All-in-all, Tofu had to admit that Nabiki took care of her health.

Soun was Tofu's major concern. The man was fairly lazy. Despite all of his daughters badgering him, he exercised only when Happosai terrorized him (which Tofu made sure happened once a week – the doctor bribed Happosai with pornographic magazines). Soun was too fond of the drink and rich food, often eating out then going home for dinner. The cigarettes were doing the worst damage though and Tofu was taking extraordinary means to tamper with them. Unfortunately, Soun noticed and demanded that he stop, telling the doctor that the anti-smoking campaigns were nonsense. The Tendo patriarch should never have given Tofu an avenue of attack though – Tofu immediately issued a challenge: If all the campaigns were nonsense, Soun should prove it by stopping for two weeks. If Soun succeeded, Tofu would provide cigarettes for one year and give up badgering the Tendo elder, but if Soun could not do it, he'd have to admit that Tofu was right. Tofu also warned Soun that he could not cheat – there would be repercussion if he did. Soun accepted.

Within three days, Soun broke out with a mysterious rash that turned his skin bright blue. The rash only vanished when Soun admitted that Tofu was right.

Now Kasumi entered the fray and told Soun to stop. Hence their current predicament: Soun was going out of his mind without his little "friends." He could not stay still, his head hurt a lot, he became snappish, and he could not sleep. He was also striking back by interrupting Kasumi and Tofu whenever he could and guarding his daughters' virtue by insisting that Ranma and Tofu go home every evening before Soun went to sleep (or attempted to sleep anyway). He was also checking up on his daughters to make sure they had no "unauthorized company" at night.

Given Soun's past actions regarding caring for his daughters, these hypocritical actions sent everyone up in flames – including Nodoka. Not long ago, Ryoga had confessed to Nodoka about his curse and what he had done with it. The part-time pig had then taken his beating well enough – even though Nodoka had used his umbrella. Afterwards, Nodoka had been ready to rip Soun apart for failing to toss Ryoga out so long ago until Kasumi told her that Soun was not aware who knew – he thought only Kasumi and Tofu knew. Kasumi also told the elder woman that everyone was hoping Soun would confess to Akane and beg for absolution. Nodoka had left the house for a walk to cool down, but she eventually forgave Ryoga (Akane had after all, and Ryoga had grown up) and waited for Soun to own up to things.

Even so, Nodoka felt Soun was out-of-bounds considering other aspects of Soun's behavior. Kasumi was due to get married within two months and the eldest daughter was 22 years old – now Soun was saying something? He had been trying to throw Ranma into Akane's bed for the past two years. Now that he had succeeded (even if the two were sleeping chastely and Ranma was in his female form), he was suddenly switching course? But, she was a traditional Japanese woman and this was Soun's house (more or less), and these were Soun's daughters – technically, she was only a renter. Still, Soun could feel the icicles in her eyes anytime Nodoka looked at him.

As a result, Nodoka was now serving as a spotter for the elder couple, letting them know when Soun was tied up at a meeting or at a dinner. She wanted to do the same for Ranma and Akane, but they were at school and couldn't slip out for an "interlude" in the middle of the day. Besides which, the younger couple was not as "advanced" as the elder couple and Nodoka felt a little out-of-place serving as her son's lookout, even if they were more or less engaged (Ranma was actively saving up for a ring – and getting closer). Still, she was relieved to know that some of the training sessions the two engaged in after school involved a very different kind of "sparring". Nodoka had then paid for locks on the dojo doors after she interrupted them once, which the young couple appreciated.

* * *

><p>The trio turned into the dojo property to find a morose Soun sitting in the yard. "Good morning, Daddy!" Akane said brightly. "It's a little chilly to be sitting outside, isn't it?"<p>

"I'm not sick," Soun said moodily. "The cold will not hurt me."

"Didn't say it would, Daddy," Akane said in an overly perky voice. Soun just shuddered at the cheery sound.

"Good morning, gentlemen," Soun said with a sour expression, especially at Tofu.

"Good morning, Father," they said together with a slight bow, causing the expression to get worse.

The three entered the house and shouted: "We are here!" Behind them, Soun moaned.

Nodoka, Kasumi, and Nabiki shouted out from the family room. Kasumi and Nodoka had laid out a traditional breakfast. "Come eat first, you can get cleaned up later," Kasumi told them.

"How long has he been like that?" Tofu asked sitting down.

"Since I got up," Nodoka said. "The shakes have stopped though. Those cigarettes are nasty things, aren't they?"

"Yes, they are, especially for Soun. His lungs are a mess, which is why he is out of breath so much. Once he gets past the initial two weeks, things will get easier physically, but he will still crave cigarettes for a while," Tofu answered.

"Isn't there some sort of medicine to help ease the withdrawal?" the mom asked.

"Yes, there are patches and tablets I could give him," Tofu said. "But he doesn't want them. He's still trying to prove that all the press about cigarettes is nonsense, despite having lost the bet. I'm worried that once he's through the withdrawal, he'll start denying it ever happened."

"That's all right, Tofu," Nabiki said. "I needed a project for the Health class I'm required to take. I'm taping Daddy as we speak. If he starts that, we can have him watch the film I'm putting together."

"Nabiki!" Kasumi scolded. "I don't think you should profit from Father's misery!"

"It's for class," Nabiki said calmly. "I needed a project. The other idea I had was studying the mating habits of young Japanese adults, but I needed more test subjects." The two couples looked at her coldly. Nodoka held her head. Nabiki continued brightly: "I did have any number of males offering to help with the research though." Nodoka reached out and lightly dope-slapped the young lady, which Nabiki only took as a sign of affection.

After breakfast, Nabiki grabbed the bathroom while Akane and Ranma went out back to spar. Nodoka began running dishes to the kitchen. Kasumi got up and stood behind her fiancé. Then she bent down and tugged his pony-tail until his head tilted back and he was looking up at her. "This will not end well," she stated firmly.

"What won't?" Tofu said with an innocent face.

"You didn't eat that much this morning, which meant you were teasing Ranma. You were feeding off of his aggravation again," she stated.

"That was just a by-product," Tofu said. "He was throwing off the energy; I just gathered it up. It doesn't hurt him."

"That's not my concern – I know you love him as your brother. But Ranma does not back down and he doesn't give up," she said steadily.

"He needs to learn some humility," Tofu stated.

"This is not the way to do it," she responded.

"I've been teaching young men like him for a long time. Sooner of later, it seeps into their heads that they cannot go it alone and they need the help of a team. I made Taro see that," he answered.

"Ranma is not Taro. I would argue that he's already learned that lesson from Maomolin and Ryoga. (1) And Akane has been more successful at teaching him that he's human. Your challenge is just that – a personal challenge; and he will not stop until he wins," she pushed.

"I say he has a long way to go until that happens," Tofu said firmly.

"And I say he's not the only one who needs to learn humility," she said just as firmly. "Ranma changes and adapts very quickly. You may find yourself out-flanked when you least expect it." She let go his hair and started to grab more dishes.

"Not happening," Tofu said while shaking his head.

The serene smile returned to Kasumi face. "We will see – he only needs to win once against you to satisfy his ego. You need to be perfect every time."

* * *

><p>Kasumi saw a concerned look appear on Tofu's face and decided that she had gotten through his thick skull. Her fiancé may be over 150 years old, but he had spent a lot of time walking among non-humans. In some ways, he was as young as he looked when it came to dealing with his own kind. Of course, she had to admit that those ways allowed them to have a good relationship – it put them on a more equal footing despite his extra experience. She walked into the kitchen to see Kin, Tofu's mother, talking with Nodoka. "Did you manage to get through to him, dear?" the old woman asked.<p>

"Maybe," Kasumi responded. "We'll see. In some ways, he's as young and stubborn as Ranma – or Akane."

Kin laughed and said: "I'm afraid that's the Kitsune in him. As a species, it takes a long time for us to grow up."

There was a "pop" sound and Tomo appeared. The young red-headed Kitsune boy sat on a counter in jeans and a T-shirt with an open jeans jacket. "Personally, I'm not in a hurry to grow-up," he said. Nodoka handed him a cookie without a word and he nodded his thanks.

The three woman chatted for a few minutes before Nodoka addressed Tomo: "Tomo? Do you know where Sasuke is?"

"Yes, ma'am," the Kitsune replied. "He's in the tall tree closest to the house outside Akane's room. He's watching Akane and Ranma spar."

"Fine. Please take this breakfast sandwich to him and tell him I forbid him to spend tonight on the roof again. It is too cold. He can sleep in the family room and report back tomorrow. Honestly though, I'm not sure what he thinks is going to happen to us. It's been quiet for over a month now," Nodoka said.

Tomo took the sandwich and winced: "Never speak of your luck, Ms. Saotome. You never know what might be around the corner…"

* * *

><p>AN: Footnotes:

(1) A reference to the story "Brothers".

* * *

><p>AN: Next up: Shampoo's Last Attempt


	2. Shampoo's Last Attempt

Chapter 2: Shampoo's Last Attempt

Ranma and Akane walked through the shopping market staring at the list in Akane's hand. It would have been quicker to split the list, but they enjoyed spending time together despite the bickering they did over the items. They argued about which stores were best, how many Kasumi wanted, what a "quality" item should look like – on and on and on. There was absolutely no seriousness in the arguing however – to call it "bantering" would have been much closer to the truth. Anyone who heard the duo had to stop themselves from collapsing hopelessly in laughter and those with the Sight just smiled watching the "Red Rope of Fate" glowing brightly between them.

"They're not ready for marriage yet," remarked the greengrocer to his customer while choking back tears.

"No, not yet," the woman agreed while smirking. "They are both a little young though. They won't turn nineteen for two more months and it will be a least a year beyond that before they can actually get married properly. They'll make it though. I've seen happily married couples together for five years that are not as comfortable around each other as those two are."

"Ah, they are not in a hurry either," the man next to her said. "They've had such a weird courtship, they just want to enjoy being a couple. They are doing fine." He looked at the mystical red cord linking their wrists together and grinned.

The couple walked on, oblivious to the smirks and looks around them (although, truth be known, Ranma and Akane were not the only young couple being watched by the busybodies of Nerima). Finally, after selecting a dozen oranges in the most torturous way possible (even the children were laughing at them), Akane said to Ranma: "We're done with the list. Do you want to grab a bite before we head back?"

Ranma drop his voice and said while grinning: "I thought you were against public displays of affection?"

Akane pressed her lips into a tight line while blushing furiously. Then she punched Ranma in the arm. "You know what I mean!" she said in rough, hushed voice

Ranma's look was unrepentant, but he asked: "Any place in particular?"

"Ucchan's is close enough. She's been too busy to stop by the dojo. Let's see how she's doing," Akane answered.

"Sounds good," he agreed.

* * *

><p>As they walked in the door, Ukyo raised her hand up and called out: "Hold it! If you two are eating here, you'll keep a civil tongue with each other! You're not fooling anyone – me included! Got it?"<p>

The couple blushed furiously and nodded. The other customers laughed as Ukyo cleared two spots at the counter for Ranma and Akane. Ukyo was smiling as the two sat down - the chef was happy to see them. Two months ago she had decided that she and Ranma were not ever going to be happy married to each other and had changed her goals: if she couldn't have Ranma alone, then she would take both of them as her friends. So far, it was working better than she hoped; she not only had the couple, but the rest of the Tendos, the Onos, Ms. Saotome, and the Terrible Four (as she thought of Hiroshi, Daisuke, Sayuri, and Yuka) as well. Between them and Konatsu, Ukyo felt she had a family again. She was not completely over Ranma, but she was healing and every day was a little easier.

These days, Ukyo was at a point where she could tease the two and not be misunderstood, so she indulged in that while preparing their snack. She went through their shopping and saying "Tsk, tsk" at their choices. "Not a decent chef between the two of you," she said.

"You're going a little light on the toppings there, aren't you, Ukyo?" Akane shot back.

"Proper art is all about proportions," Ukyo said high-handedly. "Something Nodoka has been trying to pound into your skull with Nuido."

"Not to mention excess frugality is a virtue I suppose," Ranma cut in.

"Of course it is," Ukyo said grinning and then dropped the overblown tones and changed subjects. The three talked until the snack was done and then they said their "goodbyes" with Ukyo promising to stop by the dojo with Konatsu next week. However, Ukyo looked a little wistful as the couple walked out the door. Ukyo felt a firm hand on her shoulder.

"Are you all right, Mistress?" her loyal ninja asked.

"It's still hard, Konatsu, but I'm getting there. I'll be all right," Ukyo answered. A thought occurred to her, so she turned around and pulled his head down so she could kiss his forehead. "And thank you for caring and being here too, Sugar. I know you evened the score between us when you stopped me from going to jail. (1) You are sticking around because you are my friend and I know it." The cross-dressing ninja looked like he was going to explode with gratitude so, before he could say anything, she teased: "All right, enough mushy stuff, back to work." Despite that, Konatsu had a spring in his step for the rest of the day, something which amused Ukyo.

* * *

><p>Ranma and Akane were walking back through the market when Ranma suddenly tossed his bag to Akane, spun, and slapped his hands together. Akane saw a long black dagger trapped in his hands before he fell to the ground. "RANMA!" she called out.<p>

"Beggar!" he half-shouted in a strangled voice. "That hurt!"

The young woman knelt down beside him and opened his hands. Ranma had caught the evil-looking knife cleanly, but the blade had sharp-edged runes cut on both sides. The runes had made many small narrow cuts on Ranma's palms. Akane took the knife and laid it aside. She could actually see the blade's bloody outline on Ranma's hands. Ranma began shuddering.

"Ranma? Are you all right? The blade must be poisoned! We need to get to Tofu!" Akane urged while getting ready to lift him.

"Ranma not poisoned," a female voice cut it in broken Japanese. "But Ranma see his true heart now." Shampoo finished.

"Shampoo, go to hell!" Ranma growled out from where he lay.

"What have you done?" Akane demanded from where she knelt by Ranma.

"Knife have love potion on it. Ranma love Shampoo now," the purple-haired girl said. Ranma shuddered strongly in pain and muttered curses when Shampoo said the word 'love'. "Better if not fight, Husband. You love Shampoo now. Forget all about Kitchen-wrecker," Shampoo said smugly. A crowd was starting to gather about the three.

Ranma shuddered again as Shampoo said the word 'love'. Akane tried to help him up as he struggled onto his knees and bloody hands. He glared at Shampoo. Akane had never seen hate in Ranma's eyes until now. "Go screw!" Ranma said between clenched teeth.

Shampoo was taken aback by both the words and the glare. Then she became angry and said: "Husband no talk to wife like that. You show wife proper love and respect!"

Ranma shuddered and half-fell as Shampoo said the word 'love' again. Then he rose to his knees, pain obvious on his face. Akane held him about the shoulders as he glared at Shampoo again and growled in a hate filled voice, "I don't love you, Shampoo, and I never will! You will never be my wife – EVER! I love AKANE!"

When he said her name, Akane felt Ranma shudder and his shape shifted – ever so slightly. His eyes were now blue cat-eyes, and his teeth were longer. His body was also slightly bigger, but the pain on his face dropped a notch. Ranma shook his head as if clearing it. His cat-eyes were unreadable as he looked at Shampoo, but there was no mistaking the tone in the voice that hissed out of him: "Stronger than you, Cat-bitch. Stronger than all Amazons. Go to hell with laws. Ranma love AKANE-MATE!"

Shampoo took a step back at the venom and passion in Cat's voice. It didn't help that she had never seen Cat before. But at the last words, the cat-eyes vanished and Akane now held Ranko by the shoulders. There was still a painful look on Ranko's face, but it had dropped enough that a trace of wonder had crept into it. Then Ranko dropped her head a little and seemed to gather herself. "Heh," she said with a trace of a smile. "It really is over. Akane is a part of my soul." At the word 'Akane', Ranko became Ranma.

Confusion filled Shampoo's face, while wonder filled Akane's. Shampoo said: "No, you love me."

Ranma winced a little when Shampoo said the word 'love', but it passed quickly. He continued: "The lies are over, Shampoo. I know it's impossible to make a love potion. A potion can raise someone's confidence level. It can raise their awareness level. It can make someone as horny as hell, but there is no potion that can ever force someone to love another. Love is not something that can be forced – ever. Marriage is not something that can be forced either – it takes two willing people. I love Akane -"

Cat returned and finished in a hissing voice: " - not Cat-bitch. Cat-bitch cannot change it."

The look of confusion continued on Shampoo face. "No!" the Amazon said in almost hushed tones. Then her face paled and she shook her head. Shampoo said louder. "No! Not possible!" A look of horror started to creep into her expression. "Ranma must love Shampoo!"

Cat didn't even wince at Shampoo's word this time. "Ranma love Akane-mate," the Cat hissed. Ranko was back. Akane dropped her hands from Ranko's shoulder and pulled the smaller girl to her. Ranko leaned back a little, but couldn't do more because her hands were dripping blood.

Akane looked straight at Shampoo and said firmly: "It's over, Shampoo. Ranma and I love each other. Nothing you can do will change that."

Shampoo held the horrified expression for a moment and then her face flushed and hardened. Her eyes became like flint as she pulled out a sword and yelled "THEN BOTH DIE!"

Before Shampoo could do much more than that, a woman from the encircling crowd splashed a soda on Shampoo, and Shampoo collapsed into her cat form. The woman looked coldly at her and said: "We've heard enough and we've had enough. You've done your worst and they are still together. They love each other. Run home to China, little girl. You've got a twenty-four hour amnesty. If I catch you in your cat form, I'm taking you to animal control in another ward and having you 'put down'." There were murmurs of agreement from the crowd around the woman.

"I may not wait for you to be in your animal form," a man said to the cat. "There's plenty of cold water about. You don't get to kill two of ours. We do not put up with real death threats – It's one thing for someone to be yelling 'Ranma prepare to die' as a battle cry, but a serious death threat is not ignored – and that's what you just made."

"Run back to Cologne and have her ship you home. Cologne can stay, and Mousse can stay, but you are done," another man said.

"Leave now, or they will never find your body," a second woman said.

Shampoo took a look at the hostile crowd and ran, abandoning her weapons and her clothes. Everyone watched until she was out of sight.

"Keep in mind we have laws!" a policeman sounded out as he stepped through the crowd. "You're not allowed to take the law into your own hands."

"I noticed you held off saying anything until after she fled," one man said sarcastically.

"It's time for her to go home," the policeman said. "Still, even she has rights. I'll treat the appearance of purple fur in the town dump as a homicide."

"He's right," Ranko said standing up. "We can't be like that."

"I suppose we should listen to the person who is actually doing the bleeding," Mr. Sakai, the fishmonger said. "Never mind for now; let's get you cleaned up." There was grudging agreement from the crowd to the fishmonger's words and they began to move on.

Mr. Sakai and the policeman stayed with Ranko and Akane. The policeman put on some gloves and picked up the long dagger carefully. Then he watched as Mr. Sakai attempted to bandage Ranko's hands. "It not clotting," the policeman noted.

"I can stop it if I apply pressure," Ranko said pressing her hands together. "But the cuts won't seal, even if I concentrate."

"We better get you to Tofu," Akane said to Ranko.

"All right, Akane," Ranko said as she shifted to Ranma.

"And you should get that looked at too," Mr. Sakai said noting the shape-shift. "I'll have one of my kids run your groceries to the dojo and let them know what happened.

"Thank you, Mr. Sakai," Akane told him.

"I'll go with you two," the policeman said. "I can't let the knife out of my sight, but I think Dr. Tofu needs to see it."

* * *

><p>Chie saw the couple enter with Officer Hara and sighed: "I knew it was too quiet lately. Tofu's already here. He stopped in to take care of some paper work. Just go down the hall to his office."<p>

The trio walked in the open door and Tofu looked up at their entry. He rose from the chair and came around the desk. "What happened?" he asked.

Ranma and Akane told the tale about the showdown with Shampoo while the officer brought out the knife. Tofu opened the blinds in his office window and had Ranma unclasp his hands. The Doctor watched the bleeding for a minute then had Ranma hold his hands in the sunlight streaming in from the window. "The bleeding slows in sunlight," he noted. "You've been given a cursed wound."

"O.K., so what do I do?" Ranma asked.

"I can seal your hands so they stop bleeding for now, and then I need to look at the knife," Tofu said. The doctor walked back to his desk and took out a small tube.

"Super glue?" Akane questioned.

"Yep, it will sting, but it will seal the cuts for now," he answered. Ranma just shrugged, and then waited patiently as Tofu cleaned and sealed the many nicks on his hands. When the Doc was finished, he said "I need to get some cold water. I want to make sure things stay sealed if you shift forms."

Ranma stopped him by saying: "You don't have to. Akane, Akane-mate."

Tofu failed to suppress his startlement as Ranma shifted forms twice. "O.K.," he noted. "That's new, and how long has the cat-eyes thing been happening?"

"It started just after the Summoning," Akane told him. "When Ranma enters the Cat Fist these days, his eyes and teeth change."

"And you can shift form by saying Akane's name?" the Doc quizzed. "Does water still work?"

"I don't know," Ranko admitted.

"We are going to have to find out," Tofu said. "First things first – let me see your hands."

After Doctor Tofu repainted Ranko's hands, he asked to see the knife. The policeman handed it to him after Tofu put on a new pair of gloves. Tofu frowned as he held the knife in the sunlight. "Not good," he said. "This is a dark weapon."

"You mean other than the fact the blade is black?" Hara asked.

"Yes," Tofu said. "There's magic about it and this knife is made solely to inflict pain." The doctor removed the end of the handle by pulling it off. "The pommel is hollow too. It could serve as a reservoir for holding poison."

"Or a potion of some sort?" Ranko asked. "Shampoo said she used the knife to hit me with a love potion."

"She seemed really surprised that Ranma could defy her, too," Akane added.

"Well, we know there's no such thing as a love potion, but she was expecting the knife to do something – and it did, just not what she expected," Tofu said. "Akane, you said Ranma flinched every time Shampoo said the word 'love' until he defied her…"

"It felt like a physical blow," Ranko said.

"And now something is causing Ranma to shift shape when he says Akane's name," Tofu finished. "Shampoo definitely did something." He turned his attention to the knife again. "Ranma? Let me see your hands again, please?" After the doc looked at them, he asked the police officer: "You're holding on to the knife because it was used in an assault?"

"Yes," Hara answered. "Judge Sanu realizes that he cannot really curb the martial artists, otherwise things spiral out-of-control around the city, but after reviewing the Book, he decided that he could place a few bounds on the fights. One absolute is 'no edged weapons outside of a dojo'."

"Can you get a lab tech over here then?" Tofu requested. "I'd like to see if I can identify the potion Shampoo used, and I'd like to call in Hideo Jouda to see if he can identify the blade – it's not metal. The lab tech can watch over us and make sure we don't break protocol, but a lab tech needs to see this blade as soon as possible."

A suspicious look crossed the policeman's face. "C'mon Doc, what do you know that I don't?" he said.

"You can see that the blood on the blade is not congealing and it's all caught in the blade's runes," the Doc replied. At the policeman's nod, Tofu continued: "Ranma's blood is on the blade, but it's all up by the handle – that's where he caught it. Someone else's blood is by the tip of the blade – and I can tell it is human blood, even if I cannot tell whose. We may have a real problem on our hands," Ono said grimly.

* * *

><p>AN: Footnotes:

(1) Happened in the last chapter of "The Date – The Flip Side".

* * *

><p>AN: A few quick comments - Yes, I know the "Amazon potion gone wrong" is used a lot in FanFiction (and in few times in the Manga/Anime), but, as Ranma said (more or less), Shampoo is lying. Please wait and see where this is going before offering statements on the love potion scenario. Also, I haven't forgotten about the bracelet and it's three pills from the Manga, but I maintain that was a special Artifact and not a potion (I would also challenge if it really caused "Love" or intense "Infatuation"). If the Amazons could have just mixed up a love potion they would have used it long before now...

Actually, that last point just gave me an idea for a story...See you in seven!

Next up – "Discoveries"

* * *

><p>AN: 1/13/15 - Update with a few quick fixes. Thanks to KaraOhki for finding the errors.


	3. Discoveries

Chapter 3: Discoveries

Sergeant Imia and Inspector Ojima looked around the restaurant. The Cat Café was in a neat orderly state. They had checked the kitchen and everything was where it should be – provided it was past closing time and not coming up on dinner time.

"No one has done anything today," Imia commented.

"No, they haven't. I don't think Shampoo even made herself breakfast here this morning," Ojima said. "No one's here at all now."

"Do you think the three of them fled?" Imia asked.

"No, not likely. Cologne's more proper than that. If she really thought Shampoo was in trouble, she'd just throw the girl on a plane, and then close everything down. At the very least, she would leave a note saying what to do with the restaurant," Ojima answered. "Let's check the second floor."

The two policemen carefully checked the bedrooms, including the storeroom Mousse slept in. Shampoo's room had half-empty drawers thrown about the room and the closet pulled apart, but the other two rooms were fairly orderly. Mousse's clothes were hanging up here and there in his room; so were Cologne's robes. Ojima pointed at a bookcase in Cologne's room. "There's no way Cologne would leave without those scrolls. She's planning on coming back from wherever she is. Looks like Shampoo packed in a hurry though."

"Maybe she did take Shampoo to the airport," Imia stated.

"Possibly. Let's check the basement and then get out of here," Ojima said.

They went back downstairs and found the basement door. As soon as Imia opened the door, Ojima bolted outside and threw up. Imia closed the door and ran outside. He placed a hand on the inspector's shoulder and asked: "What did you Feel down there?"

"Get Ono and Jouda over here. If they can't come, get another mage. Then call the lab and get some techs out here. Something happened in that basement and it wasn't pleasant," Ojima said between dry heaves. "Then get me something to clean up this mess – I'm not getting my chops busted by my own men."

* * *

><p>The lab tech, Kodo, swabbed the hollow pommel for trace. "There's nothing obvious, Doc," he said. "I'm not seeing anything get trapped in the fibers and the swab is not absorbing any liquid. I'll run it to make sure, but it looks like there's nothing here."<p>

"That's weird," Tofu replied. "Something seemed to affect Ranma." Kodo just shrugged his shoulders. "Am I right about the blood?" Tofu asked.

"Yep, I'm not sure how you knew, but the trace near the tip is human blood. So is the more recent – or so you say – trace by the hilt, but we already knew that. However, the blood typing kit says they are from different people. It's amazing that the runes hold the blood like they do." At the Doc's nod, the tech continued: "I'll run some more tests at the lab including looking for anticoagulants – that might be why the blood is not congealing." Kodo turned to Hideo and asked: "Are you sure that the blade is not metal?"

Hideo nodded his head and said: "It's not any kind of metal or stone. I'd say it's bone, but it's too hard, so that doesn't make any sense."

"I'd have to agree," the tech said. "Anyway, since Ojima said you were consulting on the case, I'll send you a copy of the findings and any more photographs."

"Thanks," Tofu said. The tech placed the blade in an evidence bag, and then took it with him as he left with Officer Hara for the precinct.

Tofu looked at Hideo and said: "Let's go check on the patient." The two walked into an examining room to find Dr. Ando looking at Ranko's cat eyes with a light. Akane sat next to the table holding Ranko's hand. "How do things look, Isamu?" Tofu asked.

"Judging from the references I was able to find, Ranma's eyes seem to match what you'd see in any tiger's eyes, but other than that, they are healthy. The jaw is mostly human, but changed slightly to hold the teeth properly. Everything seems sound though," Isamu answered as he straightened up. "Right up until I take an X-ray or a photograph – then nothing shows up on the image except human eyes and human teeth.

"A Chi-backed illusion then. What about the voluntary shape-shifting?" Tofu prompted.

"I'm not sure I'd call it voluntary – he cannot stop it. If he says Akane's name or even 'Tomboy', he shifts shape," Isamu answered. Cat-Ranko smirked while Akane rolled her eyes. "His shape still responds to water though, although it seems to cause him a little discomfort – slight pain, his blood pressure rises, and his heart rate increases. But things settle quickly enough if he says Akane's name a few times. The only interesting thing to note is that the water changes the base shape 'Cat' shows up in: if the last water hit was warm, 'Cat' is male. If the last water hit is cold, 'Cat' is female. The ordering in the cycle changes though; 'Cat' always follows the 'base' shape – male if warm water, female if cold."

"Why didn't either of you mention 'Cat' before?" Tofu asked the two teenagers. It was obvious that he was a little frustrated with them. _(1)_

Cat shrugged her shoulders and spoke with a slight hiss: "Teacher knew about Cat Fu. Never gone away." Then Cat stopped and held up her hand and said: "Akane-mate."

Now Ranma was back in his male shape and he explained: "I can think normally as 'Cat', but speech is a little tough – the cat spirits are still learning." Ranma continued: "The Cat Fu took a more 'physical' form when Ryoga was attacked by the Oni. _(2)_ The cats spirits felt less trapped when that happened and I felt more at ease with them. Then they fought to free my human side from Genma's potion and I've been working on not running from cats. _(3)_ I don't know, I guess we just accepted each other. Now when I enter the Cat Fu state, I remember everything and I can talk more or less. Sometimes I feel one of the cat spirits 'wake up' when I'm not in the Cat Fu. It doesn't take over though or start with the illusions, it just shares my thoughts and feelings for a while."

"Cat needs to come out every three to four days for about an hour or so," Akane said. "Ranma starts to get a little restless and even a picture of a cat can start the Cat Fu state then."

Again, Ranma just shrugged and added: "When it happens, I don't fight it. I just put on a pair of sunglasses so not to worry folks – it also helps protect my eyes. When I'm in the Cat Fu, if I get the urge to do something a cat would like, such as eat fish or go exploring, I just do it. Often, when I'm Cat, I just keep doing what I originally was doing – the cat spirits are curious about everything, even school. When the spirits have had enough, they just drop back again. Like Akane says, they lose interest after about an hour or so and then they are happy just to tag-along again for a few days."

"And this doesn't worry you?" Tofu asked.

"I'm still me. Cat is still me," Ranma said. "Right now, I'm concerned about the constant shifting, but I'm not afraid of Cat coming forward."

"And the Chi claws and the heavy Chi shielding?" Tofu prompted.

"Still there," Isamu said holding up a very bent hypodermic needle. "I wanted to draw blood when Ranma was in the 'Cat' state and see if there are any biological differences, but that's not happening. He cannot make it stop."

"But Ranma can control the claws perfectly," Akane said. "He can hold my hand and slice a steel pole in half at the same time."

Tofu cocked an eyebrow at Akane. "And you're not fazed by this in the least?" he asked her.

Now Akane shrugged her shoulders. "He's still Ranma – he feels the same to me," she answered and then her face took on a teasing expression. "When Cat shows up, Ranma tends to be more affectionate though." Ranma started to roll his eyes, but ended up smirking instead. She continued: "I taught Cat to call himself 'Ranma' or 'Cat-Ranma' instead of 'Cat'." Akane paused to roll her eyes and added: "I also tried to teach Cat to say 'Akane' instead of 'Mate'. I settled for 'Akane-Mate' – at least it doesn't sound like a request." She tapped the smirking pig-tailed young man on the top of his head with her hand.

Tofu seemed absolutely nonplussed by the teenagers' casual acceptance of Cat. Hideo began chuckling though. "Sometimes, my friend," Hideo told Tofu. "You get immune to the craziness."

"Perhaps, but I still need to know these things as their teacher, their doctor, their friend, their Guardian and a part of their family," he said with exasperation. "Is there anything else you two should tell me? Does Akane change shape now? Has a god stopped by to visit? Anything else unusual?" he prompted with frustration, half-raising his hands in a pleading gesture.

"I'm sorry we didn't mention it, but Cat is not something we were worried about," Ranma told him.

"Besides, Cat has been around in one form or another for a while," Akane added. "It's just a form of Cat Fu."

"A visible form of Cat Fu," Tofu shot back. "That hasn't happened before in recent history." Then Tofu sighed, "All right, let's drop it for now. Welcome to the menagerie, Cat." Even Isamu chuckled at that.

"So what's next?" Ranma asked.

"Date night is canceled tonight," Tofu said. Both teenagers pouted at that. "There's an unstable Amazon on the loose. We are going to circle the wagons until the police get a little more info. Ranma and I can sleep downstairs tonight at the house. Ciren is now stationed in town too – I'll give her a shout. We need to shake Sasuke out of his tree and let him know what's up.

"You rang?" a familiar voice sounded behind them.

"Perfect," Tofu muttered. "I'm so rattled, I didn't even Feel him."

"Hey, I've been practicing!" Sasuke defended himself.

"Never mind. Nodoka said you were not to be on the roof tonight. You have first shift on guard duty. You can keep Soun company, since he probably won't sleep all night."

"Is there anything you'd like me to do?" Hideo asked.

"Did you snag a couple of pictures of that knife?" Tofu asked in turn. At Hideo's nod, Tofu continued: "See if you can find out anything about it. If nothing else, see if you can trace the runes on the blade, maybe they will tell us something. I'll have Tomo run a copy by the Elders too."

* * *

><p>Inspector Ojima waited outside of the restaurant for his team to finish. While he was waiting, a blond woman dressed in black hunting leathers and a cloak approached him. The inspector noted the long bow over one shoulder and called out: "Ms. Blake, Judge Sanu has said no bladed weapons!"<p>

"I only have dum-dum arrows on me right now. Ticking off the judge – or you – is not part of my plans," the European woman said.

"What the hell is a dum-dum arrow?" he asked sharply.

Ciren tossed an arrow to him. He caught it and looked at it. The arrow had no tip or side blades at the tip. Instead it had an egg-like rubber ball at the end that had a lot of grooves cut into it. "It's a little something I make for myself," she answered. "It's an exaggerated blunt point arrow. It's good for knocking people out or slowing them down. At full draw, it will even make a Nerima Martial Artist pause."

The inspector grunted and handed the arrow back to her. "What are you doing here?" he asked.

"I'm looking for my apprentice," she answered. "Mousse and I have a standing 3PM appointment on Saturday's and he wasn't here. Since Cologne approves of his lessons and tries to make sure he shows up, I took that to be a little odd. Later I heard about Shampoo's encounter with Ranma and Akane earlier in the day, and I've been trying to find him or Cologne ever since."

"Was there anyone here when you stopped by at 3PM?" the inspector asked.

"No, but I didn't go inside. Let just say that I 'knew' the restaurant was empty," she answered.

"Did you see anything amiss then?" he questioned.

She shook her head. "No, or I would have gone inside."

"All right." The inspector paused and asked: "Where's Ranma now?"

"The Doc has him locked down at the dojo house," she told him. "Everyone is staying in tonight – they are not sure if Shampoo is a threat or not. She said she was going to kill Ranma and Akane; everyone who heard her took her seriously. Neither Ranma or Akane is afraid of her, but they are afraid for the other, so they are behaving themselves." Then she answered the question he didn't ask: "Hideo is trying to find some info on the knife Shampoo used. I'm looking for Mousse and Cologne. Daran is checking sources to see if any of the Amazons have left the country. Olaf is still in China, but he's getting on a plane tomorrow. Sasuke is at the dojo but he has ordered ninjas to watch over Ranma's and Akane's friends, especially the non-martial artists. Shizuka is hunting for the Amazons too – and before you ask, 'Yes', I had a talk with her about appropriate force."

"Good," Ojima grunted. "She tends to get a little possessive of the Tendo daughters. Someone threatening Akane would definitely set her teeth on edge. Where's the little thief?"

"Mausu is in England last I knew. He has other business to attend too," she answered.

"I doubt it's legal," grumbled Ojima. Ciren just shrugged her shoulders. "What about Kuno?" _(4)_

"Kuno keeps his own counsel and doesn't share with us. But he is not our problem, he's yours," she smirked at him. He looked back at her darkly.

Just then, Imia came out of the restaurant. "What did Forensics find?" the Inspector asked the Sergeant.

"There was a magic circle inscribed on the floor," Imia said. "Our mage thinks it's a 'protection' circle, but there's blood inside the circle – not a lot, but not a little either. The whole setup doesn't look like much or appear that threatening, but everyone – and I mean everyone – is getting a queasy feeling. People are only staying for five minutes or so before they need a break. Oota says it's time to put out a bulletin on the Amazons. We can issue a warrant for Shampoo, and a safety check for the other two."

"Do it," Ojima ordered. Then he turned to Ciren and asked: "Do you want to take a look?"

"I'd like to check their rooms if you can spare a man to watch me, but there's not a whole lot I can tell you about the basement," she said. Then she smirked at Ojima, "I don't enjoy throwing up anymore than you do."

Ojima scowled at her and debated denying her request for half-a-second…

* * *

><p>The young boy sat cross-legged on a hill overlooking the three Temples in their walled enclosure. The Realm's sun felt warm on his face – indicating that his Guardian was in a healthy state of mind despite the latest upheaval. "May Kami-Sama Bless you, Ranma," he thought . "I know we were thrown together, but I don't know of anyone else I'd rather be Bound to." A light breeze blew about him as he felt the Dream Realm open up. He continued to study the Temples with his blue eyes. The structures were now sound – not perfect, but sound. Ranma had healed a great deal. "And they are staying that way," the boy thought with a firm expression.<p>

"There you are!" a voice sounded behind him. He half turned to watch his Sister climb toward him in her yellow dress. The blue-black haired girl looked to be a couple of years younger than his 10-year old façade.

"So, Akane finally fell asleep too," he noted. "You know," he started. "You could look a little older if you stopped fighting with her. She really does love you."

"I know that," she answered snippily. "Our relationship is based on fighting. We wouldn't know what to do with each other if we were not fighting," she answered primly.

The boy rolled his eyes. "You might want to tell her that you love her sometime," he added with a little exasperation.

"Have you told Ranma you love him?" she shot back.

"Guys don't do that, but he knows," he replied calmly.

"Well maybe they should," she snorted at him. She looked around then and her expression became worried. "Something's off," she stated with a frown.

"I know, but Ranma will get it under control. He'll handle it," he stated confidently.

"If you say so. I just wanted to check on you and Brother before I get back to Akane. The humans have something they call 'finger paints' that I want to try." With that, his Sister vanished.

The boy sighed as he thought of his Sister loose in Akane's Museum. "I know you're strong enough, but may Kami-Sama bless you too, Akane." With that, he rose and walked back to his home in the Temple enclosure. He needed to stay out of the way until Ranma was aware of the problem, which shouldn't take long. Once Ranma was aware, the lad could move around again freely. In the meantime, the boy would guard the Temples until Ranma got here. _(5)_

* * *

><p>On a rooftop overlooking Nerima, a horrified young woman watched the stars with unseeing eyes. "It's not possible! That should have worked! Ranma should be mine now!" Shampoo thought. Despair rose up in her as she whispered out loud: "Oh Ancestors! What have I done?"<p>

* * *

><p>AN: Footnotes:

(1) Tofu hasn't been around when 'Cat' was about in the past. In "The Destruction of Ranma Saotome – Ignition," Ranma had broken out of the Cat-state just before Tofu showed up.

(2) Happened in "Brothers".

(3) Happened in "The Destruction of Ranma Saotome – Ignition."

(4) The reference is to Toshio Kuno, Tatewaki's and Kodachi's uncle – not their father.

(5) In "The Destruction of Ranma Saotome – Combustion" we learned that Akane, Ranma, and Ryoga had their 'Spiritual Space' merged by the events in "Ignition" and it took a while to get separated (more-or-less; the separation can never be totally complete now). To provide privacy, Ranma showed Akane and Ryoga how to construct a spiritual center within their psyches/Dream Realms. Ranma has the Three Temples, Akane has the Museum, and Ryoga has the Maze.

* * *

><p>AN: Next up: Dream Warriors


	4. Dream Warriors

Chapter 4: Dream Warriors

Ranma walked through the jungle until he came to a clearing. In the clearing there was a high-walled enclosure containing three temples set about a marble fountain. Once he walked through the gate, he could see the temples were linked by covered walkways and the interior courtyard was paved with loose stone. Here and there, there were little patches of greenery providing a very pleasant setting. Ranma looked at the temples and smiled. He already knew each temple very well. He debated visiting them when he noticed that there was a statue standing on a pedestal in the middle of the fountain. "That's odd," he thought. There's not suppose to be a statue there."

Ranma walked over to the fountain and looked at the statue. To his dismay, he saw it was an image of Shampoo standing in a very seductive fashion. She was almost completely naked except for the robe sliding off her back. Despite the pose, her face was very smug. A vast anger filled Ranma, so he raised his hand and fired a Chi blast at the statue. The statue shattered and turned to dust. Then Ranma concentrated and willed a statue of Akane to be in its place. Akane's statue show the girl dressed in her gi, but instead of throwing a block, the statue seemed to be beckoning the observer to come closer. Ranma noticed that the gi showed the upper inside curves of both breasts, despite the fact that the garment was tied correctly. The statue's eyes held a look of mischief about them.

Ranma grinned at the statue and then turned to walk to Cat's temple. However, as he completed the turn, he almost walked into another statue of Shampoo. The statue was angry, and showed Shampoo dressed in chainmail. The statue held a dagger in it frozen hand, ready to stab Ranma. Ranma's surprise quickly faded and he became angry again. He reached out and yelled "Breaking point," turning this statue into dust. Once the dust blew away, Ranma turned to check on Akane's statue, which was still where he left it.

Ranma turned back towards Cat's temple only to see another statue standing about ten meters away. This one was also Shampoo, but the statue showed Shampoo standing in her waitress uniform. The statue's face was grim despite the fact that the shirt had been undone and the statue was bearing its chest at Ranma. Again, Ranma destroyed the statue with a Chi blast. This time, Ranma did not turn around, but waited. Sure enough, another statue of Shampoo seemed to assemble itself from blowing dust, ten meters beyond the last one.

The young man strode over to the statue and studied it. Now Shampoo was standing wearing a ceremonial kimono swinging a katana. Ranma knew the motion was part of a seppuku ceremony, and he had no delusions concerning whose neck she was suppose to be swinging at. Once more, he destroyed the statue and waited. Again, another statue appeared ten meters beyond the latest. Ranma continued the pattern, letting the destroyed statues lead him away from the temples and away from the jungle. He walked through an open grassy area, destroying the statues until the trail led him up a small hill. Once on top of the hill, he could see a grassy plain on the other side stretching away from him. The plain was full of Shampoo's statues; all in various poses of work or play. Some of the statues showed clothes, some did not. A few of the poses could only be called erotic. The faces were all either angry or smug even on the seductive poses.

The anger again swelled inside of Ranma. He looked out at the endless array of statues and yelled: "NO! I BELONG TO MYSELF! I WILL NEVER BE YOUR HUSBAND! I LOVE AKANE TENDO AND I WILL ONLY MARRY HER!" A huge wind rose behind him at those words and flowed around him, down the hill, and across the plain. As the wind passed over the statues, the statues exploded in a spray of sand with a loud cracking sound. Row upon row of the statues were destroyed as Ranma looked on unrepentantly. The wind began to speed up, destroying the statues faster and faster, flying as far as the eye could see. Ranma could almost feel someone watching him, looking for some weakening in his determination, but Ranma gave no quarter, willing the wind to flow forever.

The sound of the rows exploding became one steady note and still Ranma urged the wind to blow faster. The sound grew until it dominated everything, but Ranma only yelled louder: "I LOVE AKANE!"

Suddenly a scream pierced the air, shattering everything, and Ranma woke up…

* * *

><p>"Ranma!" Soun yelled. "Are you all right?"<p>

Ranma looked up at Soun kneeling beside him. The shape-changer seemed to shake himself and answered: "Yeah. Why? Was I talking in my sleep?"

"Umm…not quite," Sasuke answered.

"More like screaming," Tofu told him.

"Umm..not quite again," Sasuke answered. "Ranma was not screaming, the air above him was. Ranma was fast asleep."

The women were running into the main room now with anxious looks on their faces. Ciren, Kasumi, and Akane all had quarterstaffs. Nodoka had a baseball bat (the sword was long gone). Even Nabiki had her short clubs. "What the hell was that?" Ciren demanded.

"A problem," Tofu said. He turned to Sasuke and questioned: "The sound came from above Ranma?"

"Yes," the little ninja answered. "Ranma was asleep and his mouth was shut tight. The sound literally came from the air above him."

Tofu turned to Ranma and said: "You were dreaming, weren't you?" It wasn't really a question. At Ranma's nod, Tofu added: "Start talking."

Ranma described the dream then, although he neglected to mention some specific details about the statues, not wanting to upset (or embarrass) Akane. He changed shape a few times as he mentioned Akane's name, but paid no attention to it. When he finished, Ciren and Tofu exchanged a long look.

Finally, Tofu looked at Ranma and said: "You need to go on a Spirit Quest tomorrow."

"Okay…" Ranma said, drawing out the one word. "I know what one of those is, but I already know who I am."

"Which actually helps a lot," Ciren stated. "The problem is that there's something else inside of you that's not suppose to be there."

Ranma groaned. "What? Like the dragon again?"

"Yes, but this is much weaker – more like a minor sprite or demon. Shampoo probably injected it into you with the knife today. That's why the tech couldn't find any traces of a potion; there was a spirit stored in the pommel," Tofu explained. "Shampoo probably cut a deal with the spirit and was sure it could possess you." The Doc smiled a little and went on: "She doesn't know about all the training you had. She also doesn't know that you've made peace with your other sides. If you hadn't accepted Ranko and Cat, the spirit would have been able to turn you against yourself and take over. But between the joining of your other selves and the fact that you truly love Akane, it cannot get a hold on you." Akane kneeled down and hugged Ranma fiercely from behind. Ranma squeezed her hands gently. When Akane stopped, she stayed close to Ranma.

Tofu continued to explain: "The spirit was probably hoping to drive a wedge between you and Akane by forcing a shape-change every time you said her name, but that doesn't bother you at all now. You were much more bothered by the constant bleeding. Now, it's trying to overwhelm you in your dreams, but you defeated it again. It's going to keep poking at you and trying to get a hold. It probably has a time limit before the possession wears off. The thing is, you cannot wait for it to keep attacking. Granted, you seem to be much stronger than it, especially on your home turf, but it may do serious damage before it gives up."

"So I need to hunt it down and throw it out," Ranma finished. Tofu just nodded. "All right, what do I have to do?" the shape-shifter said.

Tofu looked at the clock on the wall; it was 1AM. "We need to start the preparing," he started. Looking at Ranma, he continued: "The most important thing is for you to rest tonight, but you need to rest in a deep trance state. I can put together the herb tea you need. We also need a more protected place for you to rest in. I think we need to go back to the clinic."

"I'll throw a few things together," Nodoka said getting up.

Tofu started to say something only to have Kasumi step on his foot discretely. He clamped his mouth shut. Ciren smirked. Kasumi then said: "We should probably all move to the clinic for tonight. The old reasons for staying together are still with us."

"All right," Soun agreed. "Shampoo is still a concern."

Tofu seemed to regain his composure. "Sounds good; let's move. Don't worry about bedding and towels. There's plenty at the clinic. Let's leave as a group in ten minutes." Everyone got up and went to grab a few things. Before Ciren left the room, Tofu called out: "Ciren, could I speak to you for a minute?"

"What's up, Fox?" she asked when she came over.

"Are you up for spirit guard duty tonight?" he asked.

"If you mean sentry duty, then 'yes'," she answered. "If you mean Dream duty, then 'no'. There's a better option, and it's time to use it."

Tofu looked confused. "Hideo and Shizuka are not here. I need to prep." He paused and said: "Kasumi could do it, I suppose."

"I'm talking about Akane," Ciren said with exasperation. Tofu was about to shoot the idea down and then stopped with a thoughtful look on his face. Ciren seized the opening: "Because of the Summoning, she's already been in his head. She's spiritually connected to him, and they have no secrets from each other. Plus, instead of me sitting by Ranma's bedside holding his hand, the two of them can hold each other. With the level of love they share, Akane will have a strong power base – way stronger than anyone else here despite her inexperience, my friend. With Ranma in a deep trance, she will practically be a god in there – that thing will have no chance. Worst case, if something goes wrong and she wakes him up, we do this a day later – but I say she is the best candidate we have. If you gave Ranma a choice, who do you think he would rather have in his psyche: me, Kasumi, or Akane?"

"I'm not sure how Ranma will feel about this, but your points are valid," Tofu said slowly.

"Then ask him," Ciren insisted.

* * *

><p>Ranma sat in the kitchen with Tofu. "Ranma, how much do you trust Akane?" the Doc asked.<p>

"A lot," Ranma answered.

"Would you trust her with your secrets?" the Doc asked.

"She already has them all, so 'Yes'. Why?" Ranma asked.

"Because I want her to be your dream guard when you sleep tonight – the spirit inside of you will be trying to sabotage your trance, but she will draw it off and keep it busy," Tofu answered.

"Doc, I trust her but I don't want her in any danger!" Ranma exclaimed.

**SMACK**

Ranma held his head as Akane stood in the doorway. "And I don't want you in any danger either, idiot," she said with some heat. "I thought we settled this when you started training me." Ranma just sighed. Akane stated: "I'm in. What do I have to do?"

"You won't be in any physical danger," Tofu told her. "Worst case is that the trance will be broken and we have to try again tomorrow night, but it's important that we get this right the first time to keep the spirit off-guard. Basically, it will be just like dreaming, but the spirit will be attacking you instead of Ranma. Since you will respond differently than Ranma, it won't be able to anticipate your actions. Ranma already gave you an example of the tricks it will be pulling when he told you his dream."

Akane's eyes gleamed. "I get to break Shampoo statues all night? When do I start?" she asked. Ranma and Tofu could not help but laugh.

* * *

><p>Later on at the clinic, Akane and Ranma settled into the same large bed. Both were wearing sweat pants and sweat shirts. Ciren's comment that this would work better if they were both naked had caused them to blush deeply. Tofu yelled at Ciren to cut it out and assured the couple she was joking. Nodoka had been ready to beat Soun if he said anything, but he was too concerned about the couple to worry about acting childish. Besides, it wasn't as if the couple would be alone. Ciren, Soun, and Nodoka were taking first guard shift. Kasumi and Sasuke were taking second shift. Those not actively guarding would be sleeping. Tofu would be preparing things for Ranma's Vision Quest. Nabiki was sleeping in Ranma's room – she wasn't a warrior. Neither was Nodoka when push came to shove, but she was protective of her children. Nabiki was responsible for breakfast though, which meant take out.<p>

Tofu gave Ranma one cup of herb tea, and Akane a different cup and had them drink. Then he had them place themselves into a meditative trance – but not before Akane nestled into Ranma's arms. "Sure," she said. "We get a chance to cuddle, but it's actually in preparation for a battle." The comment was greeted with laughter – including by herself and Ranma.

"All right, lights out," Tofu said shortly after.

* * *

><p>Akane became aware she was standing in the middle of a temple plaza - actually, three temples surrounded the plaza on three sides. Everything was enclosed by a high wall with only one gate. The temples were linked by solid-looking covered walkways and surrounded a marble fountain. There were green little gardens sprinkled among the crushed stone plaza. In the middle of the fountain, set high on a pedestal, she noticed there was a statue, and walked around to see the front of it. To her delight and embarrassment, she saw it was herself. The image was flattering at least – it was nice to know Ranma thought well of her and found her appealing, but she had to admit to herself that she already knew this.<p>

She studied the temples and could easily identify which belonged to whom. The twin peaked roof on Cat's temple obviously mimicked cat ears, and the windows all had a soft almond shape. Ranko's temple had round windows and gentle intricate curves shaping the roof. Ranma's temple had square windows with a straight-forward roof. "My little idiot is not quite over his stereotypes," she noted to herself. "Ah well, he's come along way anyway, and he's allow to be human." Akane debated visiting the temples, but decided that was too personal an intrusion. Instead she walked around and looked at the small gardens, waiting for the spirit to attack.

She didn't have to wait long. Akane heard "Ranma prepare to die!" shouted out as an image of Shampoo dressed in Ryoga's clothes ran into the plaza. The fake Shampoo stopped when it saw Akane.

"Too, too, easy," Akane mocked in Shampoo's voice, nailing the pitch perfectly. A large hammer materialized in her hand and she malleted Shampoo into a pancake, then watched the pancake turn to dust and blow away. "This could be very therapeutic," Akane said out loud.

While she waited for the next attack, Akane wondered about the mallet. "It just appeared when I wanted it. If this is a like a dream, I should be able to call up anything I like."

During the next dozen or so attacks, Akane tested the limits of her imagination. Picking off the attacking squad of Shampoos by raining anvils on them had to be one of her favorites. The rocket launcher was impressive, but she was worried about damaging the temples – the idea was to protect Ranma after all. The crocodiles were messy and made Akane a little queasy, even though the false Shampoos didn't bleed. The quicksand was effective, but unsatisfying. The tigers did not work well as guards though – they just went into the Cat temple and went to sleep. She did learn that her "Thunder Strike" attack was still effective here, but she also learned that she could throw real lightning bolts in Ranma's Dream realm.

Hand-to-hand combat was interesting, but distracting as Akane could only fight so many people at a time. She had to fall back on anvils again as some of the Shampoos were getting close to one of the temple entrances. Akane then realized that the spirit had figured out Ranma was not reachable in the Dream state. It was trying to break into a temple and roust him from his trance, which Akane could not allow, so she settled down, and began eliminating the Shampoo warriors in a very practical (and amusing) fashion using the anvils – she never missed. Akane also setup motion detectors between the temples and at the plaza entrance. She was happy that the temples had only one door each and the windows were closed and, apparently, locked. Soon, the spirit was trying to pick its way through the traps Akane imagined into being. It didn't help the spirit's cause that Akane would keep re-arranging the traps. The maze Akane built was also a hindrance.

The spirit tried to fight back with its own tricks and traps. It tried to distract her with an image of a nude Ranma, but Ranma was in a trance and Akane was (fairly) sure he wouldn't stop his preparations for a battle – not even for romance (although a girl could hope). Besides, Mr. Macho was too much of a prude. To be safe, she just trapped the image in a pit and waited it out. The image tried to sweet-talk its way out of the pit while Akane was incinerating Shampoos, but Akane knew Ranma's was not smooth when it came to romance, no matter what he thought. While he could be very sweet (which Akane liked) and he was getting better, "flowery" was not in him. Nor did he know any of Shakespeare's sonnets. Eventually, it gave up and vanished.

Trap doors didn't work on Akane because she just hovered. The vampires were met with a rain of Holy Water and wooden daggers shaped like crosses. The zombies were met with a steam roller. Once, Shampoo appeared with a flame thrower, but attacking a Fire Mage with her own element in the Dream realm is a VERY bad idea. The spirit tried to create a deep pond under Akane, but Akane just walked on top of it. No matter how the spirit tried to affect the Dream environment, Akane was always better at subverting its intention. Her version was always the stronger one. For some reason, the spirit just didn't have the resources Akane did – it was fighting an unlimited adversary and the damn anvils were too accurate.

Finally, Akane watched a blaze of light surround her as Ranma woke up. In moments, she was back in the waking world. Ranma looked at her with a smirk and asked: "Well, did you have fun?"

"Yes, now shut up and kiss me," Akane replied, so he did.

* * *

><p>The young boy looked out from his room on the second floor of the Cat temple. He had been disappointed that his Guardian had been sidetracked from visiting him by the unwanted spirit, but he had been delighted to watch his Sister's Guardian fight off the spirit. Still, he got up from the window and invoked a martial arts gi and sandals for himself (his Guardian was definitely rubbing off on him). Things had gone on long enough and it was time to clear the air – he needed to earn his keep and the upcoming Spirit Quest was an excellent time to do it.<p>

* * *

><p>AN: This might be a little rougher than usual - time is very short this week and the snow storm in the northeastern USA is not helping. Reviews are always welcomed, especially any corrections (or ways to make the story better - I'm still learning). Feel free to send me a PM if you don't want to leave a review...

* * *

><p>AN: Next up: Preparations

* * *

><p>AN: 2/3/15 - Some minor corrections in the text.


	5. Preparations

Chapter 5: Preparations

Inspector Ojima looked through the preliminary report on the knife that the Forensics team had sent him. The blood on the blade definitely had two donors. The sample from up by the hilt was O- and had no Barr Bodies in the white blood cells which matched Ranma's male form. The sample from closer to the tip was B+ and also had no Barr Bodies – most likely a second male. Anything beyond that information would take a forensic genetic test which would take a week or two before he'd get the results back (which was actually pretty damn good considering that many places would have to wait months).

One of the things troubling Ojima was that the blade hadn't been cleaned between striking the first person and striking Ranma: the blood at the tip was still viable. How was that possible? Also, it was human nature to wipe a bloody blade on something (even the victim) if you were going to carry it around for some time as Shampoo must have done before she found Ranma. Was there a reason to preserve blood on the blade? He'd need to run the question by Tofu or Hideo.

The most troubling thing though was the fact that the blood in the basement of the Cat Café was also B+ and likely male. Ojima wanted to find Mousse fast. He hoped the lad was somewhere safe, but he didn't think so (or rather "Feel" so). Ojima had issued an alert and started to call in off-duty officers to help search for the waiter. Granted, from what Ojima knew of Shampoo's and Mousse's relationship, he didn't think Shampoo hated the boy enough to kill him (indeed, she didn't think much about him at all), and there was no evidence of deep or spurting cuts (just shallow ones), but Ojima was still very nervous for Mousse's safety.

The intercom on his desk buzzed. "Yes?" he answered.

"Sir?" a voice replied. "Mr. Jouda and Mr. Hawk are here to see you?"

"Send them right in," he ordered. As the two walked into his office, he asked: "Any news?"

Daran Hawk spoke first: "As near as I can tell, the Amazons are still in the country. There's been no sign of them at any of the airports or docks. My sources say no one has appeared in China either – Cologne is on the Chinese government's watch list. They like to know where she is."

"Why am I not surprised?" Ojima asked rhetorically. He glanced at Hideo.

Hideo responded to the look: "We need to up the search for Mousse. Your folks found rope bindings that were used to hold someone in the Circle at the Cat Café. They were sliced off with a bloody knife. Your techs can't tell you this for a while, but that's Mousse's blood and Mousse was held by the rope. I was able to use some things from Mousse's room to confirm his identity. She used him for some sort of ritual. I don't think he's dead, but he cannot be feeling that good. The atmosphere is too negative. Something bad happened there."

"Tell me something I don't know," Ojima told him. "How did you keep from throwing up?"

"I sent Daran in there," Hideo replied looking at his friend.

Daran snorted: "Not the highlight of my career."

"I already figured out Mousse was in trouble. I have a nasty feeling about Cologne too," Ojima said.

"Why?" Daran asked.

Ojima just looked at him steadily until Daran said: "Oh." After a few moments, the lanky man said: "Well, there's no way Shampoo could restrain Cologne in a fight – not unless Shampoo has gotten a lot better. For that matter, I think it would be hard to even tie Cologne up or keep her tied up."

"Ah, hell," Ojima said suddenly. "The easiest way to do that is a poison or drug. I need to have the kitchen checked for anything. As much as I hate to order civilians around, can you two please go back and help search? If the poison or drug is a potion, my people won't be able detect it."

Daran sighed: "At least we don't have to go into that basement again…"

* * *

><p>Shampoo crouched in the shadows created by the rising sun while reviewing everything. "This is a nightmare," she thought while wearing a horrified expression. "Ranma shouldn't have been able to defy me. When I raised my voice, he should have been repentant. To actually declare his love for another after getting struck by the knife should have been impossible. This was the ultimate weapon; how could he beat it?"<p>

The purple-haired girl shook her head. She breathed out through clenched teeth while thinking: "Oh gods, I have to stop this! More than lives are on the line now. There's no way out for me. I gambled everything on this. I've hit the limit of Kimiko's prophecy. I may be an Outcast forever more – if I'm lucky! Worse yet, I could be declared Anathema. I have to kill Ranma to break the Binding. Unless he surrenders, I can't let him live – the backlash could destroy the Village! And I need to get Akane as well. If she truly loves him, there's a chance she could curse the Village in her grief if she lives – if the Village is lucky."

"Damn it!" she screamed silently. "I didn't want this! This is a waste on so many levels!"

Shampoo looked at the house that defied her attempts to sneak in. Whatever guarded the Tendo residence was still in force. She could not break in – not that it mattered now. After observing the house for so long, she knew no one was home. Kasumi and Nodoka should have been up by now. They had all moved somewhere else. She needed to find out soon. "I have to move quickly. Ryoga usually shows up on Sundays," she thought. "If he finds Ranma before I do, I'll have to kill him too. It will be hard enough as it is."

Her mind continued: "If I get Akane first, the grief will probably make Ranma invincible – I saw what happened with Saffron. The chance that Ranma might pass directly into the Spirit Realm due to the knife strike is too great now – if that happens the Village is doomed." Shampoo began quaking at the total destruction of her people. "I have to kill Ranma first. The trick will be not dying!" With that, Shampoo snuck off into the shadows. She never saw the small red fox hiding behind her, silently watching…

* * *

><p>Ranma sat in the clinic's large bathtub, almost completely obscured by the steam. He was meditating and ritually dunking himself completely, trying to ignore the sounds from his stomach. Due to necessity, his breakfast had been light, and he would have to skip lunch. As it was, breakfast had been a carefully prepared dish of herbs and a small amount of fish in deference to Cat. He didn't think much of the food, but he knew that it was necessary. Reaching the proper emotional and spiritual state was far more important. He was glad that the others had had their breakfast away from him though.<p>

Akane was taking a morning nap. Her duties last night had exhausted her, but she had done the job well. Ranma had maintained the trance without being interrupted, so he was in good shape. She wanted to be awake when he started his Spirit Quest. Admittedly, he had mixed feelings about this. If she was asleep, she'd be staying in one place, and the others would guard her. On the other hand, part of him liked having her watch over him (not that he'd admit that out loud). He wasn't sure why, but he did. Maybe he liked having proof that she cared ("or rather more proof" part of him scolded – "if you don't know by now, there's no hope for you"). Or maybe he just liked feeling loved ("same thought" that part of him said again). Either way, he had no say in the matter – Akane was determined to guard him.

Ranma smirked at the thought of his fiery Tomboy, and then shook himself. "C'mon," he urged himself. "Think about your spirit – not Akane's…"

Tofu sat looking at the Circle he had set up around the bed. "That should keep 'things' out," he thought.

Tomo popped into the room, and then ran at the Circle. There was a flash of light and Tofu reached up to grab the little Kitsune as he flew overhead. "Not bad, Cousin Tofu," the red-head said conversationally. "If it could stop an embodied spirit like me, it will stop the disembodied easy enough."

"What is it about full Kitsunes that they constantly test the half-bloods like me?" Tofu asked with a raised eyebrow.

"We like to keep you on your toes," Tomo answered with mock self-righteousness.

"Never mind," Tofu said. He set his little cousin on the floor. "Did you run the knife picture by any of the Elders?" the Doc asked.

"Yep! The knife is a demon blade, or at least it was. Someone invoked the demon and then reduced its spirit and bound it into the knife," answered Tomo. "The runes are not actually real runes at all, but runes that had lines added to them, destroying the original purpose of the knife and banishing the demon back to Hell."

"So there's no demon in the knife?" Tofu quizzed.

"Nope. The Elders said that the demon was definitely banished, but the knife could be use to capture another spirit and inject it into Ranma. They said that makes sense given what we know," Tomo replied.

"O.K… so we are not dealing with a demon," Tofu stated.

"If we are, it's not the original one anyway." Tomo said. "The Elders said that it could still be a demon, just a very weak one. They also said capturing a spirit with that knife would hurt the spirit though – a lot. It's not a nice weapon. They recommended destroying it if you got a chance."

"The knife is evidence in a police case. I'm not sure if I can, but we will see what happens," Tofu said. "Did you find Shampoo?"

"Yes. She's searching Nerima for Ranma and Akane. I bumped into her while stopping at the dojo, but I couldn't keep up with her – she's very good. She wants to kill both of them, but she needs to kill Ranma first," Tomo said.

Tofu shook his head. "That's not like her," Tofu said. "What brought that on?"

"I'm not a hundred percent sure," Tomo replied. "Something went very wrong with her plans and she thinks Ranma and Akane are now dangerous to her village. She's not thrilled by the idea, but she sees it as necessary. She also thinks this is her only chance to void Kimiko's prophecy against her."

"I think it's too late for that," Tofu commented. "I have a nasty feeling she crossed the line when she hit Ranma with that knife." He sighed then. "Well, she won't find them here," Tofu told the little Kitsune. "The clinic is enchanted to encourage her to look elsewhere. As long as no one actually tells her Ranma is here, she cannot find him. I need you to try and find her though. We need to know where she is and what she's up to as much as possible."

"Gotcha Boss!" Tomo chimed out. "Anything else?"

"Let Kasumi and the others know what you told me, but don't wake up Akane just yet and don't tell Ranma. I want to tell them myself, OK?" Tofu said.

Tomo snapped out a salute and vanished. Tofu checked the clock and went downstairs to prepare the incense Ranma would need for the Quest. With any luck, they could get started after lunch.

* * *

><p>Ciren was taking apart Shampoo's bedroom with the Forensics team. They were looking for anything to help them locate the Amazons. Ciren had been waked by the old woman from whom she rented a studio apartment banging on her door this morning (Ciren had left the clinic after her shift guarding Ranma and gone home to recharge). The old lady had been awaken by a dream and begged Ciren to find Mousse. The elder couldn't be more specific, but only said Mousse would die by this evening if he could not be located. "Hell," Ciren had muttered to herself on her way to the restaurant. "This is why there are no serial killers in Nerima. The psychics come out in force and it's all over. If the police cannot find the murderers, Others do."<p>

When she got to the Cat Café, she found Ojima already tossing the place again. Before, everyone had been polite about things. After all, Shampoo was wanted for simple assault and a death threat. Mousse and Cologne had only been missing for less than a day. Now, all bets were off – Ojima had thrown politeness out the window (not that it was hard for him to do). Honestly, Ciren was a little shocked by the extent of the disruption. When Ojima made his appearance, Ciren had started with: "Inspector? Don't you think this is a little…" and then stopped. The look on Ojima's face told her several things she didn't want to know – but needed to know. Instead she asked: "Where do you want me?"

"Go help toss that little bitch's bedroom," he ordered. "Look for anything that might tell me where the other two are. Hideo and Daran found a sleeping potion in the kitchen. It has Shampoo's prints on the bottle. The potion is oil based and doesn't wash out very well. There were traces of it on some of the dishware from two nights ago. Do NOT tell the dojo about this." Ciren did not have to ask which one. "I do not want Akane or Ranma out hunting for Shampoo or the other two – it might play right into Shampoo's hands. Tofu is the only one who might be able to control them; I'll talk to him myself in a little bit."

* * *

><p>Ryoga and Akari got off the train and dropped in to see Hideo and Shizuka, but only found Shizuka there. She brought then up to speed on the latest disaster and told them Ranma wouldn't be at the Tendos today. Her wording was cryptic, but the young couple immediately got the hint. When they appeared at the clinic, Chie let them in.<p>

"I'm manning the door," the office manager explained. "Everyone else is staying out of sight. We've set up operations upstairs in the patient rooms." She brought them upstairs where everyone quietly greeted them.

After explanations, Tofu said: "I'm glad you two are here. Ciren has to be elsewhere this morning. Ranma is concentrating on finishing his preparations and Akane is still sleeping – she had a lot to do last night."

"No, I'm not" a sleepy voice answered as Akane walked into the room.

"Four hours is not enough, Akane," Kasumi scolded.

Akane shrugged. "It will do. I don't want to get my nights and days turned around either," she answered. "I feel pretty good though. Besides, my body rested all last night, even if my mind didn't."

Tofu cut off Kasumi's reply. "All right, as soon as you eat – do it away from Ranma – we'll get started then. I think we need to find out what Shampoo infected Ranma with as soon as possible. I don't like what I'm hearing from the team this morning."

"What do you think is going on?" Nodoka asked.

"I'm not sure – too little information. My best guess is that Shampoo invoked a minor imp using Mousse's blood. I doubt she could call up an actual demon. The real problem is that the imp will continue feeding on Mousse's blood and his energy, slowly weakening Mousse over time. It may be that Ranma needs to exorcise the imp to free Mousse," he answered.

"Would she really do that?" Soun asked.

"I don't know," Tofu admitted. "But it could explain why she was so upset when the imp failed to possess Ranma. Unless the imp succeeds or is banished, it will eventually kill Mousse. Shampoo does not love Mousse, but he is an Amazon, and his death would bother her a lot if she caused it."

"Then we need to get started now," Ranma said from the doorway. "I'm ready!" Akane ran over to hug him, which he returned.

Nodoka came over as well. As soon as Akane let go, Nodoka hugged her son then dragged Akane downstairs. "Let's get you fed," the mother stated over her daughter-in-law-to-be's protests. Nabiki smirked and then ran after the two to show them where the food was.

"She'll do just fine," Kasumi observed to no one.

* * *

><p>Tofu watched as Ranma drank the new cup of herb tea and then settled himself into a trance. Ryoga, Akane, and Kasumi were also watching, hoping that the imp might try and stop the trance. If they could trick it into showing itself, they might be able to snag it faster. But if there was an imp, either it was weaker than Tofu thought, or it didn't recognize the danger Ranma would pose once he completed the trance state. Finally, Akane said: "He's hunting inside." Ryoga and Kasumi nodded their heads in agreement.<p>

"That's it then," Tofu said. "He'll be strong enough to flush it out. It's just a matter of time now."

"If it is an imp, let's hope he finds it quickly for Mousse's sake," Ryoga added. "Is there anything we can do to speed up the process?"

Tofu shook his head. "No, there are a lot of people hunting for Mousse and Cologne right now; many of them have Other abilities. Our best chance of helping Mousse is to guard Ranma. If Shampoo shows up, we need to stop her from interfering. If possible, we need to capture her, but we also need to stay here. Understood?" The three nodded their heads. "Fine," Tofu said. "Ryoga and Kasumi will take the first watch. We will swap out every hour. Only two people in the room at a time to keep the disruptions to a minimum."

* * *

><p>Ranma appeared by the fountain in the temples' plaza. He made a quick check of Akane's statue and then froze for a few moments with his mouth hanging open. It was Akane's image standing on the pedestal, but his Tomboy had made a few slight changes to the statue. The gi the statue wore was now off of the shoulders and more of Akane's upper curves were showing. It was no worse than a strapless bathing suit, but the cut could definitely be called "adventurous." Ranma shook his head and focused on his task (with some reluctance). He resolved to have a friendly talk with her about her flirting later; hopefully the talk would become more than friendly.<p>

Ranma strode to the Cat temple and walked in. Once inside, he yelled out: "We are Ranma!"

"Are you sure this is wise? Forcing a separation after we just got comfortable?" a hissing voice questioned as Cat materialized from the shadows. Here, he stood a head taller than Ranma. He was also heavier built.

"Do you trust me?" Yang-Ranma asked.

"Yes, I do as a matter of fact," Cat answered definitively.

"Well, I trust you too. You will not sell us out and neither will I. We can cover more territory this way, and it will make us appear weaker – hopefully luring the spirit out. Once it tries to attack one of us, we can all attack together," Yang-Ranma replied. Cat nodded his agreement and led the way to Ranko's temple.

Inside the female's temple, Yang-Ranma held up his fingers and counted down. On cue, Cat and Yang-Ranma shouted: "We are Ranma!"

Yin-Ranko materialized and said: "Yes, I trust you lunatics too. All for one…"

"And one for all," the other two finished.

"O.K.," Yang-Ranma said. "Let's split up and find this thing. Mousse's life may be on the line."

"By the way," Cat said. "The lad took off early this morning. Keep an eye out for him." The others nodded.

"I trust him as well," Yin-Ranko said.

"Me too," Cat hissed. "But he's up to something. It's probably necessary, but keep your eyes open anyway."

Yang-Ranma and Yin-Ranko nodded again. Then the three left Yin-Ranko's temple and walked out the plaza's gate. Once outside, they exchanged farewells and started hunting in different directions.

* * *

><p>The boy walked through the jungle until he came to the spot where he had found the dragon spirit. As a parting gift, the dragon had left a full grown cherry tree. The boy looked at the tree and willed it to put forth four flower clusters. He picked the nearest flower cluster and held it in his hand. Then he blew at the cluster and a breeze started up around the lad. It picked up the fragrance of the flowers and then carried it away high into the sky….<p>

* * *

><p>AN: Next up: Kodachi


	6. Kodachi

Chapter 6: Kodachi

Kodachi looked out at the snowy ground through the window, thoroughly depressed by what she saw. The winter had started earlier than usual at the Kuno's Hokkaido estate. Nerima still had an occasional mild day down south, but that would not happen here until next Spring. Now Kodachi couldn't even walk the grounds anymore. She was trapped in the main house with her mad brother and father.

She morosely pushed her school work away. She had enough done for tomorrow to keep her tutor happy. There was no sense doing any more right now. Unfortunately, there wasn't much else to do. She didn't want to practice gymnastics – what was the point? There was no one to compete against here – she wasn't allowed off the estate grounds. Her schoolmates down south had been unable to make the Gymnastic Finals without her help and had moved on to other things until next year. They no longer called anymore – they had forgotten about her as their focus moved elsewhere.

Kodachi sighed. They were not the only ones to move on. Her pets in Nerima had been sent to the zoo. Her uncle had said that they would not survive in Hokkaido and that the Nerima estate was being used for other purposes. Besides, the animals were actually illegal for private individuals to own. Her uncle was known to bend the rules, but he didn't consider her pets worth the trouble. She found that she missed them.

She was surprised that she also missed Sasuke. The relationship she had with the little ninja was the closest she had to a friendship. He had cared about her and her family's well being even though they had abused him. Despite secretly being in her uncle's employment, he had tried to protect them as much as possible and deal with the families eccentricities quietly, something the Hokkaido ninjas refused to do – any violation of her uncle's rules was immediately reported to Uncle Toshio and the punishments were swift. But Sasuke had moved on too. Kodachi had heard the other ninjas mention that he now watched over several people, including the Tendo family and her rival Akane Tendo.

It made Kodachi furious that that slut had a free hand with her Ranma. Her uncle had told her that Ranma loved Akane, but Kodachi knew that was a lie. Her Ranma was noble and pure, and he would serve only Kodachi. He would wait until Kodachi could free herself from this prison and return to him. Kodachi rejected the stories she overheard about Ranma and Akane's courtship – they were just stories her uncle had planted. Her uncle was tampering with her mail – the letters of rejection supposedly from Ranma were forgeries! The pictures that her uncle showed her of Ranma and Akane dancing or kissing or holding hands were created in a computer! They had to be! Ranma was destined to be Kodachi's and Kodachi's only. He would love her eventually! It was all Kodachi had…

A tear ran down Kodachi's cheek and she got up from her desk angrily. She looked around the room, but there was nothing for her to take her anger out on anymore. Her uncle refused to replace the things she broke until she apologized for smashing them. All she had were her school books (those he would replace if she ripped), her desk (which was literally made of stone), her chair, and her bed. Her clean clothes were stacked on the floor since she smashed the dresser. If she left the room, she could move anywhere in the estate compound, but she would find ninjas everywhere – her own room was the only place of semi-privacy. The ninjas would also stop her from damaging anything outside her room.

Kodachi let out a scream of frustration, but there was no response. She was sure there were hidden cameras in her room, probably monitored by some of the female ninjas. They probably just made a note about the date and time of the scream, and Kodachi's psychiatrist would talk to her about it during her next visit. In a complete funk now, Kodachi hurled herself onto her bed and closed her eyes. "Ranma!" she cried out. "You saved me once! Why won't you save me again?" The tears started again and she cried for a little bit. Then, she started to drift off to sleep, but, as she faded, she swore she smelled the sweetness of cherry blossoms…

* * *

><p>Kodachi woke up under a cherry tree. She sat up quickly and looked around. Behind the tree, a cliff rose high into the sky. In front of her, there was heavy vegetation. "Where am I?" she wondered out loud.<p>

"You are in a place of Truth," a young voice told her. "No lie may be spoken in this place."

Kodachi turned to her left and saw a young boy, approximately ten years old. He was dressed in a white gi with sandals. The belt at his waist was sky blue. His eyes were blue, much like Ranma's. His hair was the same shade as Ranma's as well. "Are you Ranma's younger brother?"

The boy smiled and said: "That depends on your perspective, but I am Ranma's brother."

Kodachi tried to say "Then he must have sent you", but nothing came out.

"Sorry, Ranma didn't send me," the boy said. "Again, only the Truth may be spoken here. Had you phrased that as a question, you could have asked if Ranma sent me. But Ranma doesn't know what I am up to yet. He only suspects that I'm up to something."

Kodachi tried to make a few statements about the love between her and Ranma, but nothing would come out. She finally asked: "And what are you up to?"

"I've summoned you here to set you free, Kodachi. Everyone is moving on, and it's time from you to move on too," the boy said.

"NO!" she screamed. "I don't want that!"

The boy smiled sadly and there was sympathy in his gaze, but there was also a hard edge in his voice when he said: "You are one of the Living, and the Living must change constantly to survive. Ranma doesn't love you the way you wish, but he doesn't want to see you dead either."

"NO!" Kodachi yelled again. Several sentences were blocked before she finally said: "Leave me alone!"

"All right," the boy stated and then vanished.

Tears ran down Kodachi's cheek as she tried to get a hold of herself. She hoped she was dreaming and tried to pinch herself to wake up, but she stayed at the edge of the jungle. When the tears ran dry, she stood up and surveyed the forest before her. Off to one side, a path led away from the cherry tree. "No!" she whispered in horror. "I don't want to see the Truth! I have to get out of here! I must be dreaming!" She grabbed her arm and brought it down sharply on a nearby rock. The rock cut deeply into her skin and pain jolted through her body. Blood began to flow freely down her arm. "Wake up!" she screamed at herself.

Off in the jungle, she heard movement. The sound started faintly but became louder as it got closer. She heard a sniffing sound with the rustling. She backed up against the cherry tree, scared out of her wits. The sounds seemed to be approaching via the path, and her eyes widened in terror as she stared at the path head. Finally, a large man-like creature walked out of the jungle to stand on the path. He stood just under two meters tall and had blue cat-eyes. His mouth had large canine teeth and there were cat ears on top of his head. The creature also wore sandals and a gi, but this gi was blue with a black belt. Despite the incongruities, the creature somehow reminded Kodachi of…

"Ranma?" Kodachi said hesitantly. "Is that you?"

The creature looked at the girl with disbelief. "Kodachi?" it hissed. "What are you doing here?" Then its eyes narrowed and it added: "Or rather, are you here?" With that the creature raised its hand-paw and a golden light blinded Kodachi for a moment. When it cleared, she saw that her cuts had healed completely and the blood had vanished.

The cat creature sighed: "Why are you in our Dream Realm, Kodachi? You should really go home…"

"Are you really Ranma?" the young woman asked.

The cat creature snorted and stated: "Yes, I am Cat-Ranma – one aspect of Ranma anyway."

"I..I don't understand…" Kodachi stammered.

"Ranma is a shape-shifter, Kodachi," the creature said. "We have three aspects. I am Cat-Ranma." The creature held its arms out for inspection. Then it flickered and the red-headed bitch stood in Cat-Ranma's place.

Kodachi tried to scream "No! You can't be!", but the words were blocked.

The red-head noted the blocked cry and said in a hissing voice: "We don't allow lies in this place, Kodachi. We have to be true to ourselves, otherwise we have nothing. Yes, Ranko, or rather 'Yin', is really just an aspect of Ranma too. So is 'Yang'." Ranko flickered and then Ranma stood in her place. "We are Ranma," the boy hissed as he flickered through the three shapes twice, and then settled on the Cat aspect again. "Cat is Yang and Yin. Yang is Yin and Cat. Yin is Cat and Yang. All are ourselves."

"But who are you then?" Kodachi asked with a trace of awe.

Cat-Ranma shrugged and repeated: "We are Ranma. Ranma is a male spirit with multiple forms. We have more Yang paths than Yin paths and Cat and Human Chi flow through them."

"My uncle was right?" Kodachi whispered.

"We didn't know Toshio Kuno knew about us, but it doesn't surprise us. All of Nerima knows of our abilities," Cat-Ranma said. "It seems only you and your brother denied what everyone else knew – even Sasuke knew, and he tried to show both of you." The shape-shifter rotated through the aspects again and cycled back to Cat-Ranma. "In our Dream Realm, we can control how we shift. In the outside world, circumstances dictate which form we wear. We use to consider this a curse, but we've learned to accept it and make it part of ourselves – we don't ever want to be separated anymore. Our family and friends accepted it even faster than we did."

"How could anyone accept this?" Kodachi said with some revulsion.

Cat-Ranma looked at her with hurt and frustration. "This is why we never wanted to date you. You could never see the real us. You viewed us as a perfect possession to be owned, not a real person with faults and flaws. Akane can detail every one of our faults, and she still loves us. And she loves all of us – she doesn't shun Yang, Yin or Cat. She'll hold our hand – or paw – proudly."

Kodachi became upset and blurted out: "I know you better than –" The word was lost to the Truth, so Kodachi tried again: "I have studied you inside and out! I –" Again, the Truth blocked her.

Cat-Ranma crossed his arms. "Really? Let's do a little test to see if you really know us." Cat considered its phrasing carefully and asked: "What do you think is Ranma's favorite food?"

Kodachi sat stunned for a moment. "A favorite food? Ranma eats everything!" she thought. "How can he have a favorite?" She looked at the creature before her – an obvious carnivore from looking at the teeth. "Meat – it has to be meat," she thought. Out loud, she said: "I think your favorite food is steak."

Cat-Ranma shook his head. "And you would be wrong. Steak is not even close," Cat-Ranma replied. "Next question: What do you think are our favorite things to read?"

Kodachi had a worried look on her face. "Read? Since when do men worry about reading? Tatewaki never reads – he just practices with his sword. Of course, he's not really normal. What does Uncle Toshio read? Maybe Ranma reads the same thing…" She thought about what her uncle read and then blurted out: "I think you like to read financial studies!"

Cat looked stunned. "O.K., we thought you might know us better than that," he said with disbelief. "Again, you are not even close – who the hell reads financial studies?"

"Uncle Toshio does!" Kodachi defended herself.

Cat-Ranma rolled his eyes. "Do we even look close to your uncle?" he said while shaking his head. Kodachi had to admit there was no resemblance. "Never mind," Cat said. "Last question: Besides the roof of the house, where is our favorite place to go and think?"

Kodachi was dismayed. "Do I really know so little about him?" she thought. "Wait, I can only utter Truth in this place. Can I use that to help me?" Kodachi thought for a minute and said out loud: "You like to go to the …" Then there was a long pause as she tried to say any word that popped into her head. Cat cocked an eyebrow at her as the pause became longer and longer as the Truth kept blocking the last word. Finally, Kodachi burst out "Dojo!"

Cat-Ranma gave a little chuckle. "Technically, your sentence is true," Cat-Ranma said. "We do like to go to the dojo to work out or meditate, but that's not where we go to really think. And it took you an awful long time to even come up with somewhere we like to go. We have got to wonder what some of your other answers were." The creature shook his head. "Face it," he continued. "You do not love us – you don't even know us."

Kodachi look stricken. She tried to deny what Cat-Ranma said but she could not utter a word – the Truth kept stopping her. She tried to claim that he was all she had, but that would not come out either. She fell to her knees in despair at that thought – she didn't even have Ranma. "I have n-" she started, but could not finish.

Cat-Ranma looked at her with compassion and hissed softly: "That's not true either. You don't have nothing. There are people who care for you. You've pushed many of them away, but they want to come back. You just have to let them. And…" he paused thoughtfully, testing the words. "You have to accept what people are willing to give, whether it's just friendship or love."

"Who will love me?" Kodachi asked with a lost look.

Cat-Ranma approached and knelt down closer to her. He hissed softly: "Maybe the question should be: "Who do you choose to love – and we mean really love and not try to own?"

"But they might leave me – like my mother did," Kodachi whispered.

Cat-Ranma didn't really understand that part, but he tried anyway: "And they might stay too. We can guarantee that if you really love them, some of them will stay, and even those that leave may come back." Happily enough, that seemed to be a true statement.

Tears were pouring down Kodachi's face. Cat-Ranma wasn't sure what he should do. He was too shy to give her a hug, and he was fairly sure that was the wrong thing to do anyway. Instead, he just watched as Kodachi slowly dropped her head and seemed to nod. Then the girl slowly vanished. Cat-Ranma stood up with a sigh and hoped Kodachi would be all right. Then he shook himself – he had dealt with Kodachi, but there was still another intruder out there, one that might hold Mousse's life in the balance. He had to move….

* * *

><p>AN: And just to finish a story:

* * *

><p>Two weeks later in Hokkaido -<p>

Kodachi sat in her chair reading her English assignment when the intercom sounded. A voice from one of the ninjas said through the speaker: "Miss Kuno? Your uncle is here to see you."

Kodachi pressed the speaker button and answered: "Please send him in." As an afterthought, she said: "Thank you."

Toshio entered his niece's room warily. He was anticipating a trap of some sort. Kodachi had been on her best behavior recently, and he thought he smelled a rat. He noted that the ninjas had replaced most of the items in her room in response to her apologies. "Hello Kodachi. How have you been?" he asked.

"Hello Uncle," she said with a sigh. "I'm all right, but I have a question to ask…"

"You cannot go back to Nerima," he cut in firmly.

His niece shook her head. "I don't want to go back – at least for a while. That's not what I need to know."

To say that Toshio was surprised by this statement would be putting it mildly. "Have you been taking your medicines?" he asked suspiciously.

"Yes Uncle," Kodachi said with another sigh. "I have been behaving – honestly! But I really need you to answer my question truthfully – I have to know."

Toshio sat down on her bed with a wary look on his face: "I can't promise an answer, but I'll at least promise not to lie. What's the question?"

Kodachi took a deep breath and then blurted out: "Did I kill my mother?"

For one of the few times in his life, Toshio was shocked: "WHAT?!" he half-yelled. "How could you even think that?" he demanded.

Kodachi seemed to steady herself and then rushed on: "Mama died shortly after I was born. Did she die because she gave birth to me?"

Kuno brought his hands to his face and swept them up over his hair. Kodachi knew he did that when he was flustered. Kodachi prompted: "Please Uncle! Daddy won't talk about her at all, and neither will Tatewaki, but I have to know!"

"Morons," Toshio whispered harshly. "So that's what this has been about with you…" Toshio straightened up and looked Kodachi in the eye – he only had one shot at this, and he knew he had to convince her of the truth. "Your birth was a normal delivery. Your mother had an easier time with you than with Tatewaki. She was killed by a drunk driver who crashed into the little restaurant that she was in. She had snuck out of the hospital to grab a sandwich because she didn't like the hospital food. She was one of five people killed that day by the drunk driver. I have the newspaper article back in Nerima. I can get it for you if you like – or you can contact the Tokyo Times and get the article yourself. It appeared in the paper two days after you were born."

"So, I did kill Mama…" Kodachi started to cry.

Toshio was not good at family moments, but he was damn sure going to get this one right. He jumped to kneel before Kodachi and grabbed her face. "You ARE NOT responsible!" he insisted. "Your father blames himself because he changed hospitals at the last minute so you would be born outside of Nerima – away from the Nexus! Tatewaki blames himself because he got sick and your father had to stay with him when your Mom was killed! Both of them are WRONG. NONE of you are responsible. Your mom wasn't responsible either. Your mom was killed by a jackass who couldn't stay away from the bottle and didn't have the common sense God gave a flea! This wasn't the driver's first offense! His rap sheet was a mile long! He wasn't even allowed to drive!"

He took a deep breath and went on: "You cannot claim responsibility for random circumstances. You have no idea how things would have turned out if you were born a day later or earlier. For all we know, circumstances could have had all of you dead. The only thing not random about this was the driver – he killed five people: your mom, an old man with a heart condition, a young couple on their honeymoon, and the restaurant owner. *HE* did this, not you!"

Kodachi slowly nodded her head and Toshio released her. "What became of him?" Kodachi asked.

"I promised I wouldn't lie to you – don't ask that question," Toshio said grimly. Kodachi just nodded her head again.

Toshio looked at his niece for a few moments and then leaned forward to stroke her hair and her cheek. "Damn," he said. "I wished you'd asked me years ago – no one should have to carry that false guilt. Not that I've been successful with your dad or brother." He sighed and then looked her in the eyes again as he cupped her chin. "You are not responsible. You are not cursed. This is not your fault. Please talk to your doctor about this. Please get this out of your system. You deserve better. Your mother would want better for you. She was a lovely woman who could not wait for you to be born – she wanted to meet you so badly. She loved you, your brother, and your father very much. She would want all of you to be happy. Please!" he pleaded.

Kodachi nodded and leaned forward to hug him. Toshio did his best to return the hug. Finally, Kodachi released him and he got back up on the bed to sit across from her. Kodachi looked at her uncle for a minute and asked: "Is it possible for me to leave Japan for a little bit? I want to be anonymous for a little while."

Toshio considered that for a few moments and then said: "Let's see how you handle things for a week or two. If things look good and your doctor approves, you can visit your cousins in Vancouver for a few months – provided you promise to behave." Kodachi nodded her head, so Toshio continued: "I'll go to Canada with you to help get you settled and I'll leave a few body guards to watch over you." His eyes gleamed and he half-smiled: "I'm not sure your good behavior is here to stay."

Kodachi gave her own mischievous half-smile in return. "It's not, but maybe I'll tone things down a little anyway." Toshio gave an honest laugh at that.

* * *

><p>Back in the present again:<p>

The boy watched Cat run back into the jungle from where he was hiding and grinned. "Sorry Ranma, but you humans have such short lives. I want you and your friends to have happy ones before you sparks leave me." His face turned thoughtful, and he continued: "Still, that was an interesting way to handle Kodachi…I wonder…" He shook his head after a moment. "What will be will be – let's see how you handle Ukyo first…"

He closed his eyes and teleported to a field of wheat. The young boy held up another cherry flower cluster. "A better setting for you, Ukyo," he murmured. With that, he blew at the flowers and the scent wafted into the sky.

* * *

><p>AN: To help the reader, I've added some comments about the boy to my profile. His name (as everyone will learn in the next chapter) is Rera, which is Ainu for 'Wind' – something Tofu mentioned to Kasumi in Chapter 3 of "The Destruction of Ranma Saotome – Detontation."


	7. Ukyo

Chapter 7: Ukyo

Ukyo watched the last of the midday crowd leave and sighed. Things would be slower now until about 4PM when the dinner crowd would start. Not too bad – the register was full. She sorted out the large bills and setup the register for the next rush. Konatsu would be back from his half-hour break shortly, and then she could take hers. Ukyo decided that she would grab a quick nap during her break; she was tired for some reason. It might be from the busy afternoon, or it could be that she was stressing about Ranma again.

"Damn it!" she thought. "Why can't he stay out of trouble?"

She sighed then. She thought things would settle for Ranma now; things finally looked like they were coming up in Ranma's favor for once. Genma was out of Ranma's life and Nodoka was no longer crazy. Soun had stopped pushing Ranma into marrying Akane and Akane was acting like a proper girlfriend/fiancée. Ranma now had a real parent (or rather parents) in his life. The Kunos were gone and the Amazons apparently decided that Ranma was beyond them. Things should have been easier for him.

But they were not. Shampoo apparently lost her mind, taking out Cologne ("How was that possible?") and Mousse. Then she actually threw a knife at Ranma, and was now apparently hunting for Ranma and Akane to kill them. "Really?" she thought, holding her head. "Is this ever going to stop?" Ukyo moaned to herself. "I gave up just so the two of them could have peace – and so I could have peace. It was starting to work!"

She dumped more ice into the pitcher of cold water and sighed again. The police had been by and filled her in on what was happening. They wanted her to stay put and not go hunting for Shampoo, but they wanted her to arm herself. "This is not a Martial Artist fight!" Sergeant Imia warned her. "Shampoo is acting as an assassin. We don't know why, but things have changed. The police are locking down everyone connected to the Tendo Dojo and that includes you and Konatsu. Judge Sanu doesn't want this to turn into a Wild West shootout!"

"Good luck with that," Ukyo snorted to herself at the memory. Ever since the judge came to town, he had been trying to impose some sort of order on the Nerima Martial Artists. He seemed to understand that the fights were necessary, much like a relief valve on the city of Nerima, so he didn't ban them and the Book still ruled over the Martial Artists _(1)_. But he was trying to limit the size of the disturbances and reduce the chances that a normal person (as if that really existed in Nerima) would be caught up in things. He had established some rules and rituals to the fights and setup a ranking system that the Artists (and the dojos) could use – Ukyo was proud of her ranking. As a result, the number of fights had actually increased as the Martial Artists knew who they had to target to move up the ranking system, but the extraneous damage had gone way down. The "average" citizen was much happier with their Martial Artist neighbors and many Nerimans cheered on their favorite Artist in the rankings.

Still, it also meant that the police were more likely to get involved now if a Martial Artist broke the rules, which Shampoo had. Inspector Ojima had quickly locked down the Tendo Dojo and all of Ranma and Akane's friends and allies were notified. The police were not in Ukyo's way, but she had been greeted by a lot of officers this morning when she went shopping for supplies and Konatsu noted that there was always a ninja or police officer watching – or rather "guarding" – the shop. _(2)_

Ukyo's musings where interrupted by a loud "boom" from her upstairs living quarters which shook the building. She heard a window upstairs blow out and there was a sound of a body hitting the ground outside. "Konatsu!" Ukyo yelled and dashed outside with her battle spatula. As she flew out the door, she saw Konatsu stagger to his feet, looking angry – a rare sight.

"Where is he?" a voice demanded from above and behind Ukyo. The chef turned to see Shampoo standing where her living room window once was.

"Shampoo, freeze!" an officer ordered pulling out his gun. Moving faster than the eye could follow, Shampoo threw a futon at the man. The man fired several times, but the futon blocked any clean shots, and Shampoo changed positions. The futon then knocked the officer back against a wall hard. The man slid down the wall.

"How dare you attack a police officer!" Ukyo shouted at the Amazon.

"Shampoo only knock him out," the Amazon answered. "No matter. Where is Ranma?" she demanded.

"Stuff it, Amazon!" Konatsu answered. Ukyo went into shock at the harsh tones and words from her waiter/waitress. "The Kami have taken him away to deal with the spirit you forced upon him. Once he banishes it, he'll be back."

"NO!" Shampoo shouted in horror. She and Konatsu both moved at the same time. Konatsu threw several knives at her, but Shampoo threw something at her feet and there was a flash of light, blinding everyone. Ukyo felt Konatsu pull her back against him and then step in front of her. But when the flash cleared, Shampoo was gone.

"Mistress, are you all right?" Konatsu demanded facing Ukyo. Ukyo nodded her head, a little surprised by what just had happened. She was also surprised by Konatsu's demeanor. "Forgive me, Mistress, but I must see to the Officer!" Konatsu ran over to the fallen man. Ukyo came back to herself and ran after him. She was there just as Konatsu pulled the futon off the man and Ukyo bent to check the officer. The policeman moaned as Ukyo checked his pulse and breathing, and then checked his head.

"Stay still!" she insisted. "You've got a nasty goose egg."

The policeman stopped trying to get up and looked at Ukyo. "Are you two OK?" he asked.

"Yes, we are fine," Konatsu told him. "Shampoo is gone, and there are other officers running toward us. Do as Mistress Ukyo asks, please."

* * *

><p>Ukyo secured the plywood to block the hole where the window had been. There was a scorch mark on the floor were Shampoo had thrown the bomb that sent Konatsu out the window. Apparently, the ninja had surprised the Amazon and she had reacted immediately. There was little damage elsewhere in the upstairs apartment, although Shampoo had thrown a few things about in her haste to check all the rooms.<p>

Ukyo sat down hard on her couch while looking at the boarded up window. "Well, that will hold until tomorrow when Konastu can go and get more supplies," she thought. "I just want to sit a minute before I go back downstairs and help out." The local citizens were stopping by to check out the damage. Ukyo knew from past experience that they would also buy food and drink while they were looking. "I think that's why the local merchants tolerate the Martial Artists," she thought. "There's no such thing as bad publicity. Foot traffic always increases after one of these fights."

"Shampoo just screwed up badly though," Ukyo's thoughts continued. "She just broke the one of the key unspoken rules – You never attack a cop. You either listen to them or you run from them, but you never attack. Anyone who was ignoring the situation with Ranma just stopped doing that. She's finished in Nerima. She has one big well known weakness, and everyone will have pitchers of cold water ready for her."

Ukyo laid her head back against the couch and closed her eyes for a minute. "That's odd," she thought. "I smell cherry blossoms. Where did that come from? Winter's coming…" That was her last thought as sleep took her.

* * *

><p>Ukyo woke up on a tall grassy field. "Where am I?" she thought as she got up. She could only see grass nearby, although in the distance there were mountains off to one side and what looked like a forest in another. Ukyo shrugged her shoulders and started to walk toward the forest.<p>

"You don't have to go anywhere," a child's voice said behind her. Ukyo turned to see a ten-year old boy. The boy continued: "He will be here shortly." The child looked a lot like Ranma, but not exactly. Still they could easily pass for brothers.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"Kodachi never asked that. I have many names, but, at this time, I am Rera. I am Ranma's brother," the lad answered.

"Umm…Ranma doesn't have any brothers," Ukyo replied carefully.

The boy laughed. "Yes, he does. Ryoga is his brother, but not mine." _(3)_

"Well, Ryoga is his foster brother. They are not biological brothers," Ukyo answered.

"Feh. There are many biological siblings who are never truly brother or sister. Ryoga and Ranma are much more related than they are," the child laughed. He went on: "Ranma and I were born from the same 'spirit', if you will. That's why I can live comfortably in his Dream Realm."

"I'm dreaming?" Ukyo asked.

Rera nodded. "Yes, you are dreaming, and I brought you to Ranma's Realm."

Ukyo looked confused. "Why?" she asked.

The boy laughed and walked over to Ukyo. Then he lifted his hands to her face. Ukyo was surprised, but found herself mesmerized by the boy's laughter. "Because you are healing, but not yet healed. Ranma – and Akane – love you very much. They want you healed, but you have to be free in order to heal. You've already figured out a lot of things about Ranma – and yourself, but you need to hear it from him to be truly free. In the World, Ranma will hem and haw, but here, in his Dream Realm, he cannot do that. But be forewarned, you cannot lie or dodge either." Rera took his hands away from Ukyo's face and watched as the implications sank into Ukyo.

Rera continued: "I brought Kodachi here as well. She can heal now and will finally hear the Truth she needs to hear. But, I will give you an option I never gave her: you can go home right now. You will heal, but it will take a few years and you will not be able to attend Ranma and Akane's wedding. However, if you stay here and confront Ranma, you will heal much faster, and you will find your life mate much sooner. You will also be able to go to your friends' wedding with your head held high. It's your choice, Ukyo."

Ukyo looked at the young boy. She knew what he was not saying – that it would hurt. Still, sometimes it was better to rip the bandage off rather than try and nudge it off. Besides, she was stronger and better than that. She never hid from pain. And she had chosen her path when she decided to stop pursuing Ranma. Ukyo slowly nodded her head.

Rera smiled at her. "Ranma comes," he said while nodding toward the distant forest. Then he vanished.

Ukyo turned to face the forest. Off in the distance, she could see someone now. Obviously, it was Ranma. Ranma seemed to see her too, and altered course slightly to meet her. He slowed as he approached; confusion was apparent on his face. He held up a hand without a word and Ukyo was blinded momentarily by a golden light. When she could see again, Ranma was standing in front of her, holding his head and shaking it side-to-side a little. "Now he wants me to do this?" he asked.

"Seems so…" Ukyo replied. "You know about Rera then?"

"Yeah…he brought Kodachi in earlier," Ranma sighed while dropping his hand.

"Ranma? Did you ever love me?" Ukyo blurted out.

Ranma turned beet red. "I thought we were all right now?" he dodged.

"Ranma, I need to know…did you ever love me?" she pressed. "Rera said you couldn't lie here."

"Son of a …" Ranma muttered.

"Please Ranma – just tell me the truth!" Ukyo pleaded.

Ranma groaned, but Ukyo just stared at him until he finally relented and sighed out: "Never the way you wanted us to."

Ukyo sat down heavily on the ground and began weeping.

Ranma panicked and said: "We care for you, Ukyo. You're one of our oldest friends! …" Something seemed to block his words after that.

"But I'm not the closest, am I, Ranma?" she said while weeping.

Ranma moaned again. "Please don't force us to rank you!" he begged. He sat down heavily as well.

"I don't understand Ranma!" Ukyo huffed out. "I've known you the longest! I've…" She tried to say that she knew him the best, but that wouldn't come out.

Ranma sighed and said: "Only the Truth can be spoken here, Ukyo."

Her unexpected muteness caught Ukyo off-guard and she stopped weeping. After a minute, she tried again but nothing came out. Finally she said: "I thought I knew you the best…"

"Afraid not, Ukyo," Ranma said quietly. "You do care for us, and you have often tried to be there for us, but you don't know us as well as you think. We have always been going in different directions."

Ukyo's first response was blocked, and so was her second. "I hate this!" she finally said. "This place is making me feel like I don't know you!"

Ranma sighed again and then seemed to remember something. "Ukyo, please answer three questions and we'll answer the same questions for you."

Ukyo finally noticed Ranma's altered speech. "Why do you keep referring to yourself in the plural?" she asked him.

"It's a long story," he answered with a sigh. "Bottom line is that it's part of a trap and it's only temporary – even now, it's starting to become undone." Ukyo thought there was something in that statement that seemed to please Ranma. "We need to track down the invader before it tries anything. Will you answer our questions?" Ukyo nodded her head, so Ranma asked: "Ukyo, what do you think is our favorite food?"

"Why it's the meat special okonomiyaki," she stated.

"No, okonomiyaki is your favorite food, but we couldn't tell you what type of okonomiyaki is your favorite," Ranma returned patiently. "You could eat okonomiyaki everyday of your life, but we couldn't."

Ukyo looked like she had been struck for a second and then became angry. "You jackass!" she shouted and sprang at him. However, Ranma was no longer there, so she hit the ground instead. As she tried to get up, the grass wrapped around her and literally held her down.

"Calm down, Ukyo!" Ranma called out from where she had been. "Please!"

"Let me up so I can kill you!" she demanded.

"Is it any wonder why we could never talk to you honestly about us in the World?" he replied.

That took the fight out of her. "Damn it!" she thought. "I'm just proving his point." After a few moments she tried to say "I'm good", but that wouldn't come out. Finally she said: "I'm in control again." The plants let go of her.

"Do you want to hear the second question?" Ranma asked. Ukyo nodded her head fiercely as she stood up, so Ranma asked: "What do you think is our favorite reading material?"

Ukyo tried to say "That's easy" but immediately hit a mute spot. She shouldered on anyway: "Cookbooks. That's why I think you'd make a fine chef!"

Ranma looked stunned. "How the hell could you think cookbooks?" he said with a half-strangled voice.

Ukyo misinterpreted his look and said smugly: "First book I ever saw you with was a cookbook – you took it out of Dad's backpack to look at it. Any time you could, you took out that book!"

Ranma smacked his forehead. "That was the first book we remember seeing all right, but we didn't know what it was. We had never seen a book before and didn't recognize the text. We didn't know how to read and Genma always used scrolls! It had lots of pictures of food though, and Genma kept us perpetually starved. That's why we wanted to look at the book! We were always hungry!" Ukyo looked stricken as Ranma finished: "No, cookbooks are not our favorite reading material."

"Oh gods!" Ukyo thought. "My father thought Ranma had an interest in cooking because of that book. That's one of the reasons he asked for the betrothal! Crap!"

Ranma looked at the ground with frustration. "By the way, Chef – cookbooks are not your favorite either. Akane told us you like racy romance stories; the racier, the better. If she hadn't told us, we'd never have known." Ukyo broke out in a deep blush at that. She remembered the day Akane, Sayuri, and Yuka saw a book spill out of Ukyo's bag. The trio had tried to tease her by reading from the book out loud until they found a juicy part (in more ways than one). Ukyo had been able to snatch the book back as the three girls stood stunned and bright red. Apparently, Ukyo had corrupted Sayuri permanently though – her friend was also addicted to romance novels.

Ranma took a deep breath and asked his last question: "Besides the dojo roof, where do we like to go and think?"

Ukyo thought about that and sighed. "You like to go under the canal bridge in the park. I know that one because Akane told me."

Ranma nodded his head and said: "Your restaurant is the only place you like to go to think. If you're really pissed, you go to your room and lock the door. That's how Konatsu knows he really screwed up." Ukyo nodded her head in return. Ranma went on: "One for three, Ukyo, and you had Akane's help. We did a little better, but we had Akane and Konatsu to help us."

Ukyo sank to the ground in frustration. "So, where does that leave us?" she asked.

Ranma also sat down. "It leaves us as friends who have a lot to learn about the other. That's pretty common really. But we are just friends. You and we want different things in life. If we actually loved you beyond friendship, we'd have to let you go. You're a chef first. We are not a chef and never will be. One of us would be terribly unhappy if we ever got married. Our kids would know that too."

"Yeah," Ukyo agreed. She knew this already. The truth hurt when she first realized it, and it hurt now, but she was beyond tears anymore. "Do you really love Akane?" she asked.

Ranma nodded his head. "And Akane and us want the same things from life," he shrugged.

Ukyo sighed and stood up. "All right, I understand finally. Come here, please." She half held out her arms.

Ranma sighed and stood. Then he went to accept Ukyo's hug – or rather he thought she was going to give him a hug. Instead she punched him hard in the stomach, half knocking the wind out of him. "There," she said. "That's much better."

"Geez, Ukyo! What the hell was that for?" Ranma said while bent over and trying to gather his breath again.

"That's because you didn't pay me the 100 yen yet as my Honor due. _(4)_ Next time you come to the restaurant, make sure you have it," she told him. Then she leaned down and kissed his forehead. "I'll see you in the Real World soon." With that, Ukyo turned smartly and walked away from him.

* * *

><p>Yang-Ranma allowed himself to fall back on his rump. He watched Ukyo stride proudly for about ten steps and then she faded slowly from his Realm. A smile formed on his face as he watched her go home. There was a clapping off to one side. Yang-Ranma turned where he sat and saw Rera standing just out of reach. "Nicely done," the boy told him smugly.<p>

"As soon as I can get up, I'm going to beat you," Yang-Ranma told him. Rera just laughed. "Do you want to explain what you are up to?" Yang-Ranma pressed.

"I am enacting Plan B," Rera told him. "You may not have time to do a complete search, so we may need to speed things up. I'm going to try and force the spirit to show itself by dragging the Fiancée Brigade here. Shampoo is next – be ready. You need to ask the same three questions to Shampoo. In the meantime, keep searching. You might find the thing before I get a chance to snatch the Amazon. If you do, so much the better. I'll be looking as well."

Yang took a deep breath and nodded as he stood up. "Is Ukyo going to be OK?"

"Oh yeah," Rera said with a smile. "Your friend finally understands now. I think you'll find things much easier with her."

"Good," Yang said. Suddenly, Yang-Ranma leaped at Rera, concentrating to force the boy to stay corporeal. He caught the lad about the waist and knocked him to the ground. Then Yang rolled Rera unto his stomach and caught the boy's arm behind his back, holding him in place. Yang proceeded to rub his knuckles hard against Rera's head, giving the boy several nuggies.

"Ow! Uncle, Uncle!" the boy cried out, half laughing.

"Next time warn me when you are pulling this crap!" Yang shouted before relenting.

"You would have said 'No', and I didn't really have time to explain!"

"Make time! All right?" Yang demanded as he left go.

"Yes, sir!" the child laughed.

"Fine," Yang grumbled, not quite hiding his own smile. "Go on. Do what you have to." Rera bounced up and threw a mock salute at Yang, than vanished. Yang got up and started his own search again.

* * *

><p>AN: Footnotes:

(1) The Book is a ledger tracking all the damage a Martial Artist does and when he/she made amends. It was first mentioned in "To Serve and Protect in Nerima."

(2) As mentioned in "To Serve and Protect in Nerima," Toshio Kuno's ninjas help the police maintain order in the town. Many of the Nerima Martial Artists will also assist when asked, including Ranma and company.

(3) As described in the story "Brothers".

(4) In "The Destruction of Ranma Saotome – Combustion," Ukyo declared legally that she would release Ranma from all obligations if he also released her, but he must pay 100 yen (approximately $1) to acknowledge the wrong done to her by Genma Saotome. However, as a result of events in "Combustion" and "Detonation", Ranma does not legally owe Ukyo the 100 yen. But, Ukyo could still insist on the payment based on Honor instead of Law since Ranma knows that Genma really is his sire. Since the 100 yen is to acknowledge the wrongs that Genma did (not Ranma), Ranma can give her the 100 yen without feeling that his own honor is taking the hit and just wipe the slate clean – which he should if he has a brain cell in his head. Let's see if he does that…

* * *

><p>AN: As Rera said, next up is Shampoo.


	8. Shampoo

Chapter 8: Shampoo

Shizuka half-turned as the door opened and Nabiki and Akane came in for the next hour shift. She rose and nodded to them. Ryoga got up from his seat and left the room without a word. Shizuka followed him. The Tai Chi Master sighed once she closed the door. Wordlessly, the two went downstairs to the one conference room the clinic had. Tofu, Soun, Nodoka, Akari, and Kasumi waited for them. Sasuke was somewhere in the building serving as a roving guard.

"Any news?" Tofu asked from where he was standing.

Ryoga shook his head and said: "No, Ranma is still hunting. He's up to something though; I can feel a trap building, but I don't know any more than that."

Tofu sat down with a sigh. "All right. We keep up with the shifts then."

"Any more word about the Amazons?" Shizuka asked.

Tofu shook his head. "No, they still haven't found Mousse or Cologne and I'm starting to worry. There are a lot of talented people looking for them. Nerima hasn't had a truly lost person for a long time." Tofu skipped an obvious joke at Ryoga's expense. Instead, he said: "Usually the Mystics find them quickly enough."

"Is there anything we can do?" Ryoga asked.

Again Tofu shook his head. "No. There are detectives ripping apart the Cat Café and mages starting to pool their power in the hunt for Mousse; we'd only be in the way. Our best chance to help is to guard Ranma."

* * *

><p>Ciren snarled to herself in frustration. Shampoo's room was in carefully catalogued tatters, but there was no clue to where the girl had taken the other two Amazons. Sunset was in two hours and Ciren knew in her bones that her landlady's prophecy was accurate. "Think!" she shouted out loud to the empty room. She was alone in the room; the officers had moved on to the other bedrooms. Hideo was helping avoid the traps in Cologne's bedroom.<p>

Ciren hadn't left the girl's room though. She didn't "feel" anything to gain in the other bedrooms, but there was something here. She had searched for hidden panels and hidey-holes, but had come up short. "So why are my senses telling me there is something here?" she asked. She paused for a moment and then made up her mind. She quietly closed the door and took out her mother's amulet. Sitting down on the floor in her hunting leathers, she focused on the amulet, willing her 'other' side to come out. She felt her mother's shape engulf her being – hopefully no one would come in the room. Her visional acuity increased twenty times; the key aspect she wanted. Carefully, she scanned the room, looking for anything that caught her eye. Everything Shampoo owned was swept with those piercing eyes. After sweeping almost the entire room, she found it. "There!" she thought. "There's a gap between the floor boards, just under the door close to the hinge. No one found it because it is either covered by the door or it hides in the door's shadow when the door is opened. It's not a hiding spot, but it's a place that gathers fallen objects, and there's something in it."

Ciren let go of the amulet and felt her normal shape flow back. Then she opened the door carefully and looked in the hole. "No, it's more of a slot, and that looks like a key is hidden in there just below the edge," she thought. "It could have been in there a long time, but it 'feels' significant." She tried to dig it out with a knife, but it was positioned just right to defeat her. "Hideo," she bellowed. "Get your butt over here!"

"You know, Tofu's right about you – you are a pain in the ass," the Earth mage griped as he came out of Cologne's room. "It's hard enough trying to sort out all the wards in Cologne's room without you yelling the house down."

"We can write love notes later!" she called out from where she was kneeling. "There's a key caught here! Can you get it?" She could hear others responding to her shouts as well.

Hideo motioned her out of the way and knelt down in her place. He held his hands above the slot separated ten centimeters apart. With a clear deep voice, he began to sing an eldritch song. Ciren watched as the key glowed blue and began to rise out of the slot. Hideo continued until the key floated between his hands. Then, with a quick gesture, he caught the key and stopped singing.

"What is it?" Inspector Ojima demanded.

"It's a lost key," Hideo told him. "I don't know if it is significant."

"It is!" Ciren insisted snatching it from his hand. She placed it into the Inspector's hand. "You can tell us more!"

Inspector Ojima stared at Ciren in obvious annoyance, but closed his eyes briefly. When he opened them again, he said: "It's something Shampoo lost last night, but it's one of two, so she didn't bother looking for it. It's not hers though, but there's something blocking me from getting anything else."

"Let me see it," Sergeant Imia said. The inspector handed it to him. Imia studied it with mundane eyes and then said: "Inspector, it's a lockup key."

"Sorry?" Hideo asked.

"It's a key issued to someone who rents a storage unit in a Self-Storage facility. They usually issue two keys as a matter of course around here," Imia explained. "All keys look like this one though."

"Where does it go to?" Ciren demanded.

Imia shook his head. "I can't tell you. There are no markings on the key that would give it away. That's a safety feature against lost keys."

"Good enough," Ojima huffed. "Call every damn Self-Storage place in Nerima. Someone's going to remember a well-built purple-haired Chinese girl speaking broken Japanese!"

* * *

><p>Shampoo huddled on the floor within the storage room. In front of her were two bodies lying motionless. Both rested within a magic Circle. She had learned to create Circles over the last year, but she never thought she would use one like this. "Damn it!" she thought. "This is Ranma's fault! He shouldn't have been able to defy me! He should have just done what he was told and come back to the Village!"<p>

One of the bodies – the smaller one – groaned. Shampoo uncorked a small bottle she had and waved it under the figure's nose. The body stopped moving. "That will buy me another few hours, but it will stop working soon. I need to kill Ranma before then, but I don't know where he is!"

Shampoo held her head for a minute, and then got up. She noticed that her shoes had some blood on them from Friday night, so she kicked them off and grabbed a set from her pack. She needed to clear her head. Shampoo let herself out of the storage room and climbed the stairs to the roof. She looked out over Nerima under the late afternoon sky. "Where is he? Where are they all? They can't all be blocking me!" she thought. "Soun Tendo has never had that ability and Nodoka has no training at all. How could they all just vanish? Did the Spirit World really take them like Waitress Boy said? There is something I should be remembering and I can't. Why?"

She wanted to scream in frustration, but that would give her away. Instead she sat down against the wall and fumed. She was also tired. She had gone over sixty hours without sleep, ever since the knife had arrived at the restaurant. "I wonder where it is now?" she thought. "Not that it could help me anymore." She ran over everything in her head. She had checked all of Ranma's allies and friends in Nerima that she could remember. "Crap – I wonder if they left the city? What if they went to Lost Boy's girl's farm? I'm not sure where that is!"

She closed her eyes in frustration – a major mistake given her lack of sleep. "Why do I smell cherry blossoms?" was her last conscious thought.

* * *

><p>Shampoo slowly became aware she was standing on the Challenge Log, but this wasn't the Village. She looked around in confusion. Instead, she seemed to be standing surrounded by mist, over a plain barely visible, filled with small pools much like Jusenkyo. There were hills just a little way off, again much like Jusenkyo. "Where am I?" she wondered out loud in Mandarin Chinese.<p>

"You are in Ranma's Dream Realm, Xian Pu," a young voice answered her in perfect Mandarin. Shampoo turned to see a young boy standing behind her. The lad wore a sorrowful expression.

"Who are you?" Shampoo asked gently.

"I cannot tell you – it has to be a secret from you a little longer," the boy said. "Where is Mu Tse? He's in trouble and needs to be found."

"Only Ranma can help Mu Tse now," Shampoo said. She tried to add more, but couldn't.

The boy shook his head and said: "Only the Truth can be spoken here, Xian Pu. Ranma will never love you as his wife to help Mu Tse. Indeed, he cannot. Love does not come about because of threats or hostages. I would have thought Jusendo would have proven that to you."

As Shampoo tried to process that, Ranko's voice chimed out behind her. "He's right, Shampoo. You need to release Mousse, now." It seemed to Shampoo that Ranko was speaking Mandarin Chinese, but she didn't quite get the names right.

Shampoo saw the boy vanish and turned to face Ranko. "I can't," Shampoo responded with a sigh, but the rest was lost to the Truth. Shampoo looked concerned.

"What were you about to say?" Ranko prompted. "Again, only the Truth can be spoken, so watch how you say it."

"I was trying to say that only Ranma can free Mu Tse …" Shampoo said carefully.

"Which means that's not true. It's possible for someone else to free Mousse," Ranko said.

"If I kill you, Mu Tse will be free," Shampoo said.

"You don't mind if we look for another way, do you?" Ranko said dryly. "And we are the only one who can help Mousse right this second apparently.

"Just love me and Mu Tse is free," Shampoo said simply.

"You didn't listen to the lad," Ranko said. "We do not love you and love cannot be forced. Once we cared for you as a friend, but that went to pieces when you tried to hurt Akane at the failed wedding. We love Akane and there is nothing you can do about that. If you killed Akane, we would still love her, but then we would hate you as well – and we would kill you."

"I know. That's why I need to kill you before I kill Akane. Your grief would destroy me and the Village. I also need to kill Akane – her grief could curse me and the Village. I can't have that," Shampoo replied regretfully. "It's a waste really, but if I want to save Mu Tse, you have to die. The rest just follows."

"There's another way, we are sure," Ranko replied.

"Doesn't matter to me. This is the way I know – I'm not leaving things to chance. If you accept that your Destiny lies with the Amazon people, we could change that maybe," she said persuasively.

"You know very little about us or our Destiny," Ranko returned.

Shampoo thought about that for a second, trying to turn this to her favor. "I say I know you better than most people."

Ranko sighed and said: "We are starting to see the pattern – we hope this works. Fine, if you think you know us, answer these questions. If what you think doesn't match the Truth for two or more questions, you have to tell us where Mousse is."

"And if I do match the Truth," Shampoo purred. "You have to become part of the Village."

Ranko thought about that for a minute and said: "We accept."

Shampoo grinned at her: "First question?"

"What do you think is my favorite food?" Ranko asked.

"Too too easy. It's the ramen you eat a ton of," Shampoo said smugly.

"No, we ate the ramen because you gave it to us for free. It's not our favorite," Ranko said firmly.

Shampoo looked like she had been slapped. She tried to say something several times, but couldn't. Finally, her face flushed and she burst out: "Next question!"

"What do you think are our favorite books to read?" Ranko asked.

Shampoo thought about this for a minute, trying to make sure she covered all the bases. Then she said: "Martial Arts manuals, especially the scrolls that you would 'borrow' from Great-Grandmother."

"Strike two. We read those to learn, not to relax. And they are filled with so much garbage that no one could call them enjoyable to read." Ranko said. "We win, where is Mousse?"

Shampoo ran at Ranko, but the red-head struck the purple-haired girl with an open palm strike to the head knocking the Amazon back along the log. "We told you we are stronger than you, Shampoo. We are also faster than you. You have no hope in a fight against us. Where is Mousse?"

Shampoo picked herself up and said with a snippy tone: "The game is not done. You didn't ask the last question. I don't have to answer anything!"

"Fine, then we'll end it now. Besides the Tendo roof, where do you think we like to go and think by ourselves?" Ranko challenged.

"The game is not over until I answer," Shampoo shot back.

"This is a place of Truth. You don't know the answer, and you have already lost no matter what you answer," Ranko stated.

"I didn't answer it yet!" Shampoo yelled.

"It doesn't matter, Shampoo," Ranko said smugly. "We've been around Nabiki too long; we smelled the setup. You never planned to tell us where Mousse was anyway. You never promised 'when' you would tell us. Just like we never said how we would be a part of your Village – had we lost, we would have written out a 'Last Will and Testament' that would have specified that our ashes be scattered over the Village after we died." Shampoo stood stunned for a moment. "Game over, Shampoo. Silence is your answer, otherwise speak now." After a moment of silence, Ranko said: "You have no idea what the real answer is. Amazons lose – again!"

Shampoo screamed in rage and ran at Ranko. Ranko struck the Amazon solidly on the chin, knocking her off the log and out into the air. Shampoo vanished in a swirl of mist.

* * *

><p>Yin-Ranko watched the patch of mist Shampoo had vanished into. "I am assuming there was a point to that?" Yin asked the young boy beside her.<p>

Rera nodded. "The entity hiding here just heard its mistress's scream and will know it just missed a chance to save her and itself. It's not going to be thinking too clearly now. You've also established three challenge questions and issued them three times – I can shape that into a Binding. The spirit will try and use the Binding against you, but it will have to show itself to do that. Then we can make it vulnerable. You need to go to the StarWatch and wait for me there. Have all three aspects ready. I am going to get our last visitor." With that, Rera vanished.

* * *

><p>Shampoo felt herself slam into her body and she woke up. She locked down her scream of rage and stood up, full of anger. "Where are you, Ranma Saotome?" she raged silently at the sky.<p>

Deep in the back of her mind, something shifted. "No," she thought. "That's not right, it's not 'Saotome.' He's someone else now. I'm being forced to forget it – something is tampering with my mind. I need to find shelter against it!"

But she wasn't allowed to pursue that thought. Suddenly, she heard the screeching of tires at the street level. Shampoo peeked over the roof edge to see police cars empty officers onto the street. Her eyes could pick out high powered rifles carried by some of the officers. All the officers were wearing body armor. "Oh hell! They know I'm here. I have to move!"

Shampoo ran down the two stair levels to her storage room. She looked at the two bodies in the magic Circle, debating what to do. However, there was no real choice – she'd have to hope that the potions she used would keep them unconscious until she dealt with Ranma. She grabbed the satchel she had packed and ran back to the stairwell. Opening the stairwell door carefully, she could hear the police climbing the stairs a few flights down. She silently bolted to the roof, having left the roof door open on her way down. Shampoo then leaped down to the next building's roof and moved away from the self-storage building. Soon she was lost among the rooftops of Nerima.

* * *

><p>"Inspector! One of the men saw Shampoo leap away from this block of buildings," an officer called out when Ojima and Imia climbed out of a squad car in front of the storage building.<p>

"Damn it!" Ojima shouted. "We won't catch her now, but never mind! Get to the storage room she rented and see if Cologne and Mousse are there!"

As he was yelling the order, a red Ferrari 550 Maranello came screeching up. Ciren flew out of the driver's side and into the building before Ojima could stop her. "Damn it again!" Ojima shouted. "Can't you control her?" he yelled at Daran who was climbing out of the passenger side.

"Yeah, good luck with that!" Daran shouted back. He then turned to help Hideo get out of the back seat of the Ferrari. It would have been a tight fit for a normal size person and Hideo was not small. After much twisting, Hideo finally came free.

"Next time we are taking the van!" the tall man grumbled. As he was stretching the kinks out of his back, Hideo's phone rang. "Hideo," he answered.

"Get your ass up here, Mage," Ciren shouted through the phone. "There's a ward up here! We can't get the door open!"

"Ah, crap," he breathed.

* * *

><p>Hideo looked at the ward holding the door shut. It wasn't very complex – strictly Magic 101. But it was rigged to bury the hallway if it was ever broken. He studied the door and then looked at the wall. "Screw this," he thought. "It will take me half an hour to undo it." He ran his hand over the wall, using his Power to locate brick and wood. Finally he marked two 'X's on the wall, about three meters from the door.<p>

"Imia!" Hideo shouted. The big sergeant strode over to him. "Make Ranma proud," Hideo said pointing at the 'X's on the wall. Imia snorted and then struck the wall twice in rapid succession, shattering two joists and making a new doorway.

Ciren leaped through the opening before anyone could stop her. Everyone heard her curse and then she shouted: "Get an ambulance NOW!"

* * *

><p>Rera materialized on the rocky path high in the mountains. He held up the last of the cherry flowers and blew at the flower cluster. "Come Akane," he murmured. "Come for the one you love…"<p> 


	9. Akane

Chapter 9: Akane

Tofu hung up the phone as he sat at his desk. He placed his head in his hands for a few moments and then stood up. Kasumi looked at him wordlessly. "They have Mousse and Cologne," he started. "Cologne was covered in blood, but none of it was hers. Unfortunately, they can't wake her up – she's been doped with something and they have no idea how to reverse it. She's stable though, but Mousse is in critical condition. He's lost a lot of blood. They are pouring new blood into him, but it's leaking out somewhere and they cannot find where. Hideo thinks it's an injury inflicted with that damn knife. I need to go to the hospital and try to help. Maybe I can find the injury and seal it, or at least slow it down. I'm going to take Tomo with me as an extra set of eyes."

"Go. We'll hold the fort down. Should we wake Ranma up?" Kasumi asked.

"No. There's a chance if Ranma can defeat the unwanted spirit, Mousse will stop getting worse," Tofu told her.

"Isn't there a chance he could also kill Mousse if he defeats the spirit?" Kasumi asked worriedly.

Tofu blew out a breath and moved to the door. "If that's the case, Mousse is already dead – all Ranma can do is move the revenant to the next World. The only question is whether Ranma goes with him or not. Let's hope our shape-changer is strong enough."

* * *

><p>Shampoo looked through the hospital medical records. She had snuck into Nerima General to pull Ranma's medical records in the hope of remembering his new name. She knew something was forcing her to forget. Creating a new magic Circle hadn't allowed her to remember, so now she was searching through the paper files (thank gods they had not converted to computer yet!). However, under "Saotome", she found no reference for Ranma.<p>

"Damn it!" she thought. Then her eyes fell on Nodoka's records. Shampoo pulled the file and read through it. Under "Children", Ranma Saotome was listed, but someone had drawn a line through "Saotome" and written "Ono". Her brain struggled to recognize what was written, but something was definitely fighting her. She yanked open the "On-" drawer and found a file for Ranma Ono. She stared at the picture there. "Ono…" she repeated to herself.

"THE CLINIC!"

* * *

><p>Nodoka and Soun entered the patient's room. Ranma was still in his trance, resting comfortably. Nabiki was sitting on a chair concentrating on staying awake. Akane was sitting on the floor next to Ranma's bed, holding his hand. Soun motioned and Nabiki stood up, but Akane didn't move. She just shook her head instead. Soun seemed at a loss, but Nodoka just shrugged her shoulders and gestured for Nabiki to leave, then Nodoka took her chair. Soun stood for a second, and then sat down in another chair.<p>

Akane looked at her fiancé. His color was good and he felt strong to her, but she was still worried. Hopefully, he would come back soon. She could tell his spirit was up to something, but she couldn't tell what – no surprise. She also felt his young ward moving about – again, no surprise. She did wonder if Ranma could feel the young ward Akane sheltered as well. He probably could. Ever since the Summoning, they had made a point of discussing Those they guarded in the vaguest terms, instinctively knowing secrecy was best for now. She smirked a little at the naughty thought of hoping that his ward was as much a handful as her ward was. Oh well, it was good practice for raising children.

She laid her head down on the bed for a minute. It had been a long day. Between the Dream duty she did last night and the guard duty right now (and the boredom), she was tired. Oh well, there were two guards in the room again, so she closed her eyes. Her last conscious thought was of smelling cherry blossoms.

* * *

><p>When Akane opened her eyes, she saw she was standing on a path high up in the mountains. Looking down into the valley below, she recognized three temples in the distance. "I'm in Ranma's Dream Realm again?" she said out loud.<p>

"Yes," a young voice answered her. "You are bait for the trap."

Akane turned to see a young boy about ten years old standing further up on the path. She raised an eyebrow at him and asked: "Does Ranma know I'm bait?"

"Ummm…not exactly," the boy said.

"I'm fairly certain I know your Name," Akane told him. "Should I give your Sister your regards?"

"Maybe when we are done here," the lad said. "It might be a good idea not to call me by my proper name. The unwanted spirit is nearby watching what Ranma is doing at SkyWatch."

"SkyWatch? That's his meditation retreat?" Akane asked.

"Yes," the lad nodded.

Akane snorted: "Trust Ranma to have to climb to his retreat. I find the Fire Pit easier to get to. All right, let's get started. Anything I need to know?"

"Ummm…maybe that you can't lie here?" the boy said.

"Duh…been here before," she responded. "I don't allow any lies in my Realm either."

"Then I guess we are set…" he answered and gestured up the path.

* * *

><p>Akane crested the last hill and looked down the slight incline into SkyWatch. It was a like a little circular island in a sea of mountain peaks. The area was smooth and perfectly flat and about fifteen meters in diameter. In the center was a Circle cut into the stone, about seven meters in diameter. Within the circle, was an equilateral triangle. Each of the triangle's apexes touched the circle. Sitting at each apex was an aspect of Ranma: Yang, Yin, and Cat. All three had their eyes closed. Akane could feel them summoning strength for the trap.<p>

"Hail Ranma!" the boy shouted to the three. "I bring you your True Love!"

The eyes of all three aspects snapped open at Rera's words and their heads spun to stare at him. Their eyes promised lots and lots of pain for bringing Akane into the fight. Then they looked at Akane and she saw their eyes soften despite the worry. The three aspects stood as one and bowed to Akane. "As always, Akane Tendo is welcome, even to SkyWatch," they said together. Akane heard a very deliberate measure to their speech – almost like they were chanting. "No other deserves my Trust or Love."

Suddenly, there was a lightning flash and a voice screamed: "NO!"

Everyone turned to see an image of Shampoo standing on a slope opposite the path into SkyWatch. "NO! Three others came here and you tested them. Each of them failed and you sent them away. You have not tested her." Shampoo pointed at Akane.

"And what business of this is yours?" the trio asked in a measured pace.

"I am Love!" Shampoo declared. Everyone looked surprised at that, including Rera. "I am Love for the Amazon Xian Pu, Love which is denied! I arise straight from the soul and I am pure in form." Shampoo pointed at the aspects in their Circle. "Ranma rejects me on the basis of three questions, yet he will not test Akane Tendo. What right does he have to reject me then?"

"This is not a contest," the aspects answered. "We love who we choose to love. We love Akane Tendo."

"You used those questions to protect yourself! To guard yourself! There is now a Binding in place based on those questions. If you are not consistent, then the protection cannot work. You must either test Akane or admit that you may indeed love one of the other three, including me!" Shampoo demanded.

"That is the biggest bunch of …" the aspects started, only to have Akane cut them off.

"Wait!" she said while looking at Shampoo. "If I can answer the questions, then I belong here." Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Rera grin and that was all the encouragement she needed – she knew she was on the right track. "And you don't!" she finished. Akane felt something gather in the air. Shampoo paled. "Ranma, what did you ask the others?" Akane asked.

"Akane don't play…" the aspects started.

"Do you trust me or not?" Akane demanded.

All three sighed. "Fine," Yang said resignedly. "What do you think is our favorite food?"

Akane laughed at the easiness of the question. "It's the one food you used your shape-change to eat despite being uncomfortable in your Yin shape – parfaits!" she answered. Yang smiled at her. "Next question!" she demanded again.

"What do you think is our favorite reading material?" Cat asked.

"Duh," she said with a roll of her eyes. "You read action/adventure mangas by the ton. If there is any humor or magic in it, so much the better. One of the ones you are currently reading is 'Inuyasha'," Akane answered. Cat grinned at her. Akane turned to Yin with an eyebrow raised.

Yin was already smiling. "Besides the roof, where do you think we like to go and think?" Yin asked.

"Under the bridge by the canal in the park," Akane said firmly. Yin's smile became a grin. At Akane's words, a strong breeze began to blow. Something seemed to sparkle in the air.

"NO!" Shampoo screamed.

Akane remembered what Tofu had crammed into her head about Bindings and called Ranma's Binding to herself: "Thrice questioned, thrice answered, thrice bound. I am Ranma's True Fiancée." The lines of the Triangle/Circle diagram the aspects stood in began to glow.

Shampoo seemed to stumble as if something shoved at her. She started to breathe hard as if the air was thinning. "Wait, Akane!" Shampoo yelled desperately. "He tested you! How fair is that? You know him, but does he really know you?"

Akane made a face. "Oh, for crying out loud," Akane muttered. "I know him and he knows me." Then an idea hit Akane like a blow to the head and she said clearly: "If Ranma can make a Binding, I can too! Ranma answer the questions please! What do you think is my favorite food?" Even though Ranma was sometimes oblivious, Akane thought he'd have to be brain-dead to miss this one.

Yin's grin was lost in laughter – "You love chocolate. If it wasn't for the bellyache it would give you, you'd eat it morning, noon, and night. We stopped teasing you about it because it was too easy."

Akane stuck out her tongue and then smiled. She made a gesture to Cat and asked: "What do you think is my favorite reading material?" Akane remembered Ranma's reaction the last time he caught her reading her books.

Cat shook his head in bewilderment. "If we live to be a million years old, we'll never understand this!" Cat hissed. "You like to read horror stories – ghost stories in particular. Then you stay up half the night clutching a baseball bat!" Cat shook his head and asked rhetorically: "Really?!"

Akane laughed at his frustration, her hair blowing in the breeze. "Maybe I want to clutch something other than a bat?" she answered. She turned to Yang next. "What do you think is my second favorite place to just go and think?"

Yang just smirked and answered: "The roof is our first thinking place, the dojo is yours. Your second favorite place is the fountain in the park. You've taken us there a few times too." Akane smirked back.

The aspects turned to Shampoo and spoke the words as one, calling the new Binding to them with a loud voice: "Thrice questioned, thrice answered, thrice bound. We are Akane's True Fiancé." Akane beamed at the aspects. The breeze became a wind, and the Circle flared brightly. A shimmering sound seemed to fill the air.

Rera spoke out loudly in a formal measured tone: "Love for Shampoo you may be, but you do not belong here. Ranma issued a Binding by accident, but Akane has claimed it cleanly. Akane issued a Binding on purpose and now Ranma has claimed it. LEAVE HERE!"

"No!" Shampoo shouted. She was having a tough time standing in the wind. "The hearts of men and women are fickle. These two are young and will continue their courting dance for some time. Others may cut in yet! I may cut in yet."

Akane's eyes hardened as she looked at Shampoo. This thing was as stubborn and stupid as the real Amazon and Akane was starting to get fed up.

"Akane!" Ranma's voice called out from the Circle. Akane turned to face the Circle. All three aspects were looking at her, and she saw all three were moving their lips, but only Ranma's one voice was heard. "Ignore her. She only has power if you pay attention to her. I love you and I always will! No one will ever come between us!" The aspects each stretched out one hand toward Akane.

Tears filled Akane's eyes. "Mine! And I'm his!" she thought. Out loud, she shouted: "I love you, Ranma! All of you! And I always will!" She started forward at a run towards the Circle. It would only be later that she would remember Rera's eyes gleaming and a knowing smile appearing on the boy's lips as she ran toward Ranma.

* * *

><p>Akane ran into the middle of the blazing diagram and opened her arms wide as if to embrace the world. The aspects turned to face Akane in the center and raised their arms toward her. Bright white light sprung from all four figures, consuming the Circle and merging into one a brilliant ball of light. Neither Rera nor Shampoo's image could look at the quartet as the Light from the Circle became blinding. The wind roared while flowing down from the sky into the Circle and blowing outward. Then the white light became suffused with a rainbow of colors, prompting Rera to turn and look.<p>

Rera burst out in a rich laugh which echoed from all around. He shouted triumphantly over the wind: _"DONE!_ " His voice easily overpowered the hurricane about him. _"Two Bindings weaving together from one to the other and back again! Bind reinforces Bind, building yet a new unbreakable Binding! Where there were two, there now is one! The Path is opened! And where there were two souls, there is now ONE!" _

"NO!" Shampoo screamed desperately trying not to be blown away.

Rera grinned mischievously (almost malevolently) at Shampoo as he stood effortlessly against the windstorm. Somehow the "boy" looked much older. _"It's over, little idiot!"_ he shouted. _"You pushed them beyond their insecurities. What would have taken many more months is now complete! Behold the Final Binding a man and woman may create between themselves! So the world changes!" _He laughed again. _"Thank you, fool!" _he crowed.

Shampoo screamed again and then turned and leapt away, jumping from mountain slope to mountain slope with the wind urging her on. She moved as fast as she could away from the streaming Light until she was out of sight.

Slowly, the blazing Light faded so that Rera could once again see Akane and Ranma's aspects. He saw that the aspects had joined Akane in the center of the circle. Yang and Yin each held one of Akane's hands across her waist and the other hands were joined behind Cat's back. Cat stood behind Akane and his long arms crossed Akane's front under her arms to grab Yin's, Yang's, and Akane's hands. Everyone seemed to be leaning on everyone else, forming a very complete – and tight – embrace. The diagram's lines were now filled with a myriad of vibrant shifting rainbow colors, but the occupants could not see it; their eyes were close in contentment. The wind had dropped back to a soft breeze as the Light retreated.

"And done again," Rera thought. "They have finally healed each other – it's about bloody time. Now I just have to play innocent." Rera fell back on his rump theatrically looking at the quartet. He shaped his mouth to form an incredulous smile. "Do you two idiots know what you've just done?" Rera asked as the light withdrew further into the glowing lines of the diagram.

Everyone opened their eyes. Akane just shrugged. "I was willing to marry Ranma back in February," she stated.

"I was willing to elope with Akane just before the Summoning," Ranma said, his one voice coming from all the aspects. "I'm a little slower than she is," the aspects grinned.

"You didn't tell me that, dummy," she said from her snug position.

"A little later, we agreed I'd ask you formally in the next year," Ranma smirked. "It wasn't necessary to tell you."

"Still, a girl likes to be appreciated," Akane told the trio in an airy tone. The four-way hug continued.

"True," Ranma admitted. "I think we need to move up the timetable anyway. We turn twenty a year from the end of January. I don't feel like waiting much longer after that."

"Ryoga and Akari are getting married on Valentine's Day. We shouldn't crowd them," Akane answered.

"How about White Day in March then?" Ranma asked.

"That's a little too passé for me, and it feels like an 'Us too'," she replied crinkling her nose. "How about the Spring Equinox instead?" she countered.

"Done!" Ranma said firmly.

"How apropos!" Rera laughed from where he sat.

"I need to hurry up and give you the ring, too," Ranma noted. "It needs to be done before summer."

"That sounds good, too. I would like a proper proposal – after all, I already asked you to marry me!" Akane laughed. Ranma just nodded and smiled from three places. _(1)_

"You know, all this is after the fact," Rera said. "Like it or not, you just made me Best Man."

"The Physical world still has to catch up with the Spiritual world," Akane shrugged.

"Even so, we can call things as we feel like it," Ranma agreed. "Meanwhile, I suppose we still need to deal with Shampoo – or whatever that thing is."

Rera shook his head and said: "She can't go into the valley anymore. She has to stay on the mountaintops. But the new Binding will gather and build in power. It is unstoppable now. It will seek her out until she is banished. It's over."

"All right, that gives us time to re-group," Yang said. The quartet broke their hug and walked over to Rera. Cat reached out and snatched Rera off the ground. Yin reached up and dope-slapped Rera. Yang just said: "You have a lot calisthenics tonight."

Rera winced and pleaded: "Oh come on! It did work!"

"You were flying by the seat of your pants on this one," Yin said. "You had no idea a Binding would fall out talking to Kodachi, Ukyo, and Shampoo when you called them here."

"Gee…I wonder who he learned that from," Akane teased. The aspects just threw Akane a dirty look.

"That's not the full story," Rera defended. "All right, I had no idea up until after you talked to Ukyo. But once you used the same set of questions on Ukyo and Kodachi, I had a new plan. If I could get you to utter the questions a third time, I knew they would form a Binding – like it or not – and that Akane's presence would provoke the spirit to come out of hiding. I knew Akane could answer the three questions. I also suspected the spirit would try to turn the questions against you, but that you could answer the questions in turn if Akane decided to build a new Binding. And I was right!"

"We're also going on a five kilometer run tonight as well," Cat growled.

Rera just sighed. "Almost got away with it," he thought. "Ah well, it's worth it."

"It's so nice to know I'm not the only one having issues with control," Akane commented. "I need to try the calisthenics tonight and see if that helps."

Rera gave a small laugh at that. "Sis is stubborn," he said as he hung from Cat's claws. "Lots of luck."

"Gee…I wonder who she learned that from?" Yin smirked as she looked at Akane.

"Shut up," Akane said while trying not to smile. "All right, so why did you originally call Kodachi and Ukyo here?" she asked Rera.

Rera shrugged his shoulders. "Might as well answer honestly," he thought. "It's not like I have a choice." Out loud he said: "Because they were hurting and this was a good time to clear the air. Since Ranma couldn't dodge their questions here very well and only the Truth could be spoken, the core of the matter was reached pretty quickly. It hurt, but it's over. Now they can heal completely. My original plan for Shampoo was to distract her and maybe convince her to go away, but something better came along. I made provisions to bring you here, but I wasn't sure I needed to do that until after Ranma spoke to Ukyo."

"Wait a minute," Cat hissed as he set Rera down. "You originally planned this just to heal Kodachi and Ukyo?"

"Well," Rera started, looking embarrassed. "I didn't plan any of this until I knew about the Spirit Quest, but I suppose that's pretty much the Truth."

Akane and the aspects looked at each other and then back at Rera. "You're developing Empathy," Akane stated bluntly. Rera eyes widened and he blushed bright red.

"You're becoming a Soul," Yang followed up.

"Oh crap!" Rera thought to himself. "That's why someone Bound me to Ranma instead of just killing me! That's why all three of us were Bound to humans!" His face looked like it was going to explode and he dropped his head in shock. He sighed and mumbled out loud: "I think that was the plan…"

Yin looked thoughtfully at Rera and said: "Maybe we'll only run a couple of kilometers." Rera raised his head in surprise and brightened at that.

Everyone was silent for a few moments. "All right, what's our next move?" Akane asked. Rera just shrugged his shoulders.

Yang spoke up: "I need to chase that spirit. Something's not quite right. She said she was pure Love, but she didn't come from me."

Rera noted silently: "He's stopped using the plural for himself. The aspects are starting to merge back together. Sharing himself with Akane probably sped things up. No harm."

"Tofu thought Shampoo might have summoned an imp, but Tofu taught us imps cannot carry Love," Akane stated.

"That's true," Rera admitted.

Yin looked at Akane and said: "You should go back and tell Tofu what happened – he needs to know. You are the only one who can leave the Quest." She pointed at Rera: "He will stay and help me." Rera nodded his head.

"All right," Akane agreed reluctantly. She kissed the three aspects and gave Rera a hug. Then she vanished.

"Wow," Cat hissed. "She didn't even argue with me."

"Sometimes, when you are right, you are right and that's the way it is," Rera commented with a smile.

The aspects laughed a little and said as one: "Let's go!"

* * *

><p>Akane woke up with a start, somehow still feeling a breeze across her face. Then all her battle instincts flared to life and she lifted her head to see Shampoo swinging a katana at Ranma's neck.<p>

* * *

><p>AN: Footnotes:

(1) The proposal happened in "The Destruction of Ranma Saotome - Detonation".

* * *

><p>AN: Next: Do I really have to tell you?


	10. Akane versus Shampoo

Chapter 10: Akane versus Shampoo

Akane leaped up from where she was kneeling within an arms length of Shampoo. Shampoo had seen Akane awaken, but couldn't change her target fast enough. Akane stepped inside the swing, grabbed the sword, and hip checked Shampoo. The Amazon was knocked away as Akane disarmed her. Shampoo spun away and snarled: "Kitchen-wrecker is like an elephant with those hips."

Akane's temper flared as usual at the insult. It was amazing – Shampoo could do so much damage to Akane's ego with a few casual words. "No!" Akane yelled at herself. "I cannot allow my temper to flare out of control. I need to be calm here, but I've always had a problem doing that with Shampoo. I need to release my anger safely!"

Akane stood back and pointed the blade at Shampoo. Then she let all her rage pour into the blade. The blade began to glow red, much to Shampoo's surprise. Akane remembered every insult Shampoo had ever said to her, every time Shampoo grabbed Ranma, every time Shampoo dismissed Akane out-of-hand. All that emotion poured up the blade turning it white hot. Shampoo could feel the intense heat and stepped back. The Amazon couldn't attack without coming near that blade, and Akane stood between her and Ranma. Off to the side, Akane saw Nodoka pick herself up from where Shampoo had thrown her and stare at Akane in astonishment.

"Amazing," Akane thought. "All that rage, and it cannot do the job. I guess it never could." She felt a calm center open up in her soul – the eye of the storm. "I still need to make my point. I guess I have to actually do this the right way." Akane released the last of her anger into the blade and then used her new concentration to tap into the electricity flowing through the room all around her. The electric lights dimmed and a buzzing was heard in the air. The electric heater shut off. She reached farther, dimming lights throughout the building. Akane was a bit amazed at how much power the circuits could handle, but this was the domain of another Fire Mage, so maybe she shouldn't have been. She concentrated everything on the tip of the blade. The blade seemed to flare and then the tip began to melt. Molten metal began to drip off the blade down onto the floor, sizzling and smoking the polished wooden planks. Akane used her power to stop any fires from breaking out around the metal, recycling the heat back into the blade. Shampoo's eyes became as big as dinner plates watching the blade melt like an icicle in summer. As the last of the blade melted, Akane held her hand out to Shampoo with the palm facing up, the remains the sword hilt lying in her hand. Shampoo watched as the last of the metal hilt became a molten puddle in Akane's hand and as the leather bindings became ash floating in the metal. Akane allowed the puddle to pour smoking onto the floor.

Shampoo was trembling as she switched her eyes from Akane's hand to look into Akane's eyes. Akane spoke in a clear dispassionate voice: "It's time to stop, Shampoo. It's all over. Ranma and I have grown so far beyond you, it's not funny. Please…Please sit down and tell us how to help Mousse."

Shampoo's eyes firmed up. Akane saw resignation there. What surprised Akane was that for the first time, she saw respect in Shampoo's eyes too. "No help for Mousse now, Akane. And there's no help for Shampoo either," Shampoo said. Akane was surprised at the proper use of her first name. Shampoo continued: "Why couldn't Akane be born Amazon? Shishen, Sister." With that Shampoo leaped sideways through the wall into the next room. _(1)_

Akane yelled "Shampoo! Stop!" even as she brought up her battle aura. She fired a Nova Blast through the hole Shampoo left and lit up the room beyond with a blinding light. She heard Shampoo curse, and then Akane heard the window in the next room explode outward as Shampoo leaped outside.

Akane ran to one of the windows in the room, noticing for the first time that it had been smashed in. As she looked out, she was caught by a Chi ball that Shampoo fired. The ball tossed Akane back into the room. Ryoga caught her before she hit the back wall. "Damn!" the Lost Boy shouted in surprise. "I didn't know Shampoo knew that trick!"

The electric lights came on full again and the electric buzz vanished from the air as Akane's hyper-concentration was broken. Shampoo jumped back into the room with a knife drawn, but before the Amazon could move towards Ranma, Akane shouted: "Thunder strike!" Akane had a full charge from having tapped into the building, and while the Chi ball had physically thrown Akane, it hadn't rattled her. There was a flash from Akane's hands and the thunder blast momentarily stunned everyone in the room except Shampoo, who was its focus – the Amazon was blown back out the window.

Akane jumped up from Ryoga's arms and ran toward the window firing another Nova Blast at the opening. The flash caught Shampoo full in the face as she was trying to jump up again, temporarily blinding her. As a result Shampoo didn't clear the window and struck the window sill with her stomach creating a solid "THUNK" sound and knocking the breath out of Shampoo. Shampoo tried to scramble into the room, but Akane yelled: "Mouko Takabasha!" The resulting red column of force caught Shampoo straight in the chest and blew her out over the neighboring houses. Akane shouted "Guard Ranma!" as she leaped out after Shampoo.

* * *

><p>Kasumi stood wearing her Chaos Gi while surveying the battle field. Everyone had arrived just in time to see Akane turn the sword into a puddle and Shampoo's attempted attacks. Ranma was still on the bed undisturbed in his Spirit Quest. The window next to the wall had been blown inward by Shampoo's attack. Nodoka was sitting next to Ranma making sure he was all right without breaking the trance, although Kasumi was starting to wonder what *could* break the trance if the fight hadn't . Akari had joined Ryoga staring out the broken window. Soun was still shaking off the hilt strike to the head from Shampoo, but he seemed to be all right. Chie was looking at the remains of the sword.<p>

"Can you see where they are? Kasumi demanded.

"No!" Ryoga shouted back. "I'm going to help Akane!" Ryoga yelled as he jumped out the window.

"How are you going to find her?" Kasumi shouted after him.

"He, Akane, and Ranma are linked," Akari yelled. "He always knows where they are. Unfortunately, he doesn't always know where he is! We'll be back." With that, she leaped after her fiancé. _(2)_

"Sasuke! Freeze!" Kasumi ordered. "Some of us need to stay with Ranma in case Shampoo doubles back!"

The little ninja stopped and nodded. "We need help. Let me make a phone call." With that, he pulled out his phone.

Nodoka shook herself and said: "I'm going downstairs to the use the phone. The Inspector needs to know what happened."

Kasumi concentrated on breathing for a few moments and then went to check on her father. As she noticed that he seemed to be somewhat concussed, Shizuka ran into the room still carrying the take-out she left to get. Shizuka took in the damage and then chimed out: "Sure, you get rid of me and then have the party! What the hell happened?" After Kasumi brought her up to speed, Shizuka said: "Maybe I should find Akane if Sasuke is calling in reinforcements?"

Chie looked surprised at Shizuka's question. "She's got Ryoga and Akari to help her. How much help do you think she needs?" the office manager said as she pointed at the remains of the sword.

* * *

><p>Shampoo plowed into the street hard, creating a small crater. "That hurt!" she thought staggering up. "Akane melts my sword, blinds me twice, creates a flash of lightning, and then uses Ranma's Mouko Takabasha to blow me halfway across town. How much bloody power does she have?" In reality, Shampoo was only a few blocks away, but she felt like she had been thrown halfway across town.<p>

"Are you ready to stop the nonsense, Shampoo?" Akane asked from behind her.

"Really?" Shampoo thought in exasperation. The Amazon whipped about and threw three exploding knives at Akane. The blue-black haired girl dodged two, but caught the third blade which immediately blew up.

"CRAP!" Akane yelled grabbing the hurt hand.

"Gotcha!" Shampoo shouted running at Akane. The exploding weapons caused more burns than shrapnel damage, but they usually did the job – Akane would be without that hand for the fight. Still, Shampoo needed to close the distance quickly, otherwise Akane would blow her apart with the long range weapons. Akane vanished as Shampoo was running toward her. "What the hell?!" Shampoo thought as she slowed. Shampoo stood in the street for a full thirty seconds, trying to figure out where Akane was when she felt the kick coming at her. She used her leg to block it, but felt the power in the strike. "Right, Akane is extremely strong too," Shampoo thought mentally rolling her eyes. "Closing with her is not always the best option either." She saw Akane had wrapped her hand in a bandage, but the hand wasn't nearly as damaged as it should have been. "What the - ?" Shampoo thought and then remembered the molten metal in Akane's hand. "Right," she groaned. "Kitchen-Wrecker is probably resistant to fire normally. This just gets better and better. I have to kill her now and get Ranma before he wakes up out of that trance."

Shampoo used a killer combination designed to attack the spinal column, but Akane blocked the leading fist and initial kick. Then the Japanese girl leaped high in the air over the follow-up kick and Shampoo had to protect her own throat quickly from Akane's counter kick – otherwise Shampoo's windpipe would have been crushed. "Damn it!" Shampoo thought. "I don't have time for this! I need to end this now!" Shampoo removed the restraints she normally placed on herself. Her limbs began to blur with the speed. Every motion sounded like a whip snapping and every strike would shatter stone. The Amazon was sure Akane had no chance against her in a death match.

But Akane just responded in kind. The young woman's speed increased to easily rival Shampoo's. Every move Shampoo made was matched and countered. Indeed, the Japanese girl eyes burned brighter and brighter with an inner light. Akane didn't just respond to Shampoo's attacks – she often started new volleys, often putting Shampoo on the defensive. Akane mixed and matched fighting styles just as Ranma did, confusing Shampoo and shaking her up. "She's never shown this potential before!" Shampoo thought. "What the hell is going on?" Shampoo tried an eye-gouge only to have Akane stop it with a sweeping one-handed block. Akane then attempted a headbutt, but Shampoo spun away.

"A headbutt? Damn, that almost worked! She's compensating for the damaged hand. This is taking too long!" Shampoo thoughts continued. "I'm bruising and battering her as she's forced to block me – but no more that she's doing to me! I need to change the game! Goodbye, Akane – this is going to hurt me in many ways, but you won't feel a thing. I'm sorry though – you could have become so much more!" Shampoo purposely over-extended an attack, leaving her left side unguarded. Akane's fist flew in to shatter the Amazon's ribs, but Shampoo was counting on that – she would heal eventually. Meanwhile, a knife appeared in Shampoo's hands and she ran it directly towards Akane's throat.

At least, that was the plan. And it looked like it was going to work, but Akane never carried through on the strike. Instead, the Anything Goes Martial Artist pulled her head back so the knife missed her throat. Akane actually fell on the ground, but not before she got a clean palm strike on Shampoo's knee – the first clean unblocked strike of the fight. Shampoo felt her knee almost shatter and her leg go numb. She fell sideways on top of Akane, but she wasn't facing her opponent. However, Akane was facing her, and Shampoo heard Akane shout: "Roasting Chestnuts!" Shampoo felt three ribs snap in rapid succession before she could get away from Akane.

The two women rolled apart and sprung to their feet. "You'd never make that mistake, Shampoo," Akane huffed at her.

Shampoo produced a second knife in her other hand. "Not bad, Akane. But Shampoo is armed and Akane is not. Shampoo sorry to kill you though."

"AKANE!" Ryoga yelled out.

Akane snatched the thick steel rod out of the air that Ryoga threw. It was as long as she was tall – a stone mason's tool of some sort that had had its blade snapped off. The Japanese girl looked grimly at the knives in Shampoo's hands and the rod – now a staff – began to glow red as the street lights dimmed a little. "I like my odds, Shampoo," Akane told her enemy.

"Crap," Shampoo thought as round two began. Now Shampoo had to use her weapons to keep the rod away from her – she could feel the heat emanating from the steel. Akane was at a disadvantage because it took concentration to maintain the heat and she only had partial use of one hand, but Shampoo couldn't use anything but the knives to counter the steel or she would suffer a severe burn. As it was, it was a wonder Shampoo's clothes didn't burst into flame. "Great. I could really use some water about now," the Amazon thought, "if it wasn't for the obvious problem. And, of course, the knives are getting hot too." She sighed internally. She had to get rid of the glowing rod – it was definitely evening the odds in Akane's favor. But, it was going to cost Shampoo. "Hopefully, I can keep one of the knives," the Amazon thought.

Shampoo locked one knife hilt around the rod and slid the knife down towards Akane's hand. She also made an elbow strike at Akane's face expecting Akane to dodge it. But Akane shifted into it instead, taking the blow on the side of the head instead of on the jaw and maintaining control of the steel staff. Shampoo scored a hit, but Akane used her leg to bang the rod into Shampoo's knee – the same knee Akane scored a hit on earlier. Shampoo was off-balance due to Akane leaning in to take the hit, and the positioning had robbed Shampoo's blow of some of its force. The heat seared through the leggings Shampoo was wearing.

A muffled screamed escaped from Shampoo. Akane struck again and the bar slammed into Shampoo's hip. Shampoo's clothing protected her from most of the heat, but not the force of the strike. The rod came into contact with Shampoo's arms causing more pain. Shampoo forced herself to focus on entangling the rod with the other knife hilt, but her hand accidentally banged the rod causing her to suck air through her teeth. Despite the pain, Shampoo fell backwards, flipping Akane over and away from her. She managed to wretch the bar away but lost one of the knives. Akane managed to control her fall and rolled upright.

Shampoo continued to ignore the pain and ran at Akane, but Akane slashed at her – with the other knife. Shampoo backed off and circled Akane looking for an opening. Akane had a massive bruise on the side of her face, but her eyes were untouched. The knife was in Akane's off-hand due to the bandage around the other. Shampoo was worse off, but her mental concentration held off the pain for now. The two women circled each other and Akane looked to be in no hurry. "She waiting for something," Shampoo thought.

Suddenly, Akane made a slashing gesture at her own bandaged hand, and the wrapping fell off. Akane flexed the hand and switched the knife over to it. "Great. She heals as fast as Ranma does too," Shampoo groaned internally.

"I still like my odds," Akane repeated.

Off in the distance, Shampoo heard sirens. She also became conscious of people watching from their homes. "The police are coming here. That's why she is stalling. I've lost," Shampoo thought. "Even if I kill her, I'll take so much damage doing it that I'll never get to Ranma – somehow, someway she has become that good. Never mind that Ryoga is in the shadows watching. The only reason he hasn't entered the fight directly is that Akane will kill him if he does. So my options are Shishen, which Akane will not give me before the police get here with their damn tasers, or to make a break for it and try something else."

"Another day, Sister!" Shampoo yelled out, and then threw a flash bomb at her feet. Akane answered with another Nova Burst, but Shampoo was not looking at her. The Amazon used the excess light to locate Ryoga, and then ran off in a different direction.

* * *

><p>Police cars pulled up encircling Akane. She lobbed the knife away and sat down heavily on the ground. One of the officers approached Akane with his hand on his gun, but he did not draw it. "Ms. Tendo?" the officer called out. Akane nodded her head. Another officer picked up the knife. "Do you have any other weapons on you?" the first man asked. Akane shook her head.<p>

"The knife is not hers," Ryoga called out. "She took it off the Amazon Shampoo."

"Are there any other witnesses to that?" the officer asked.

"Me," Akari called out. "Shampoo had two knives. Akane used an iron bar to defend herself but lost it in the fight. She managed to grab one of the knives as she lost the bar though."

"Any other witnesses?" the officer asked. Three people called out from the crowd and confirmed Ryoga's and Akari's story. Another person led an officer away to retrieve the rod. One of the officers (a female who knew Akane's past) came over and checked Akane for weapons. When the officer was done, she allowed Akane to sit up again. The first officer told Akane to stay put while they gathered statements and evidence. Ryoga and Akari stayed nearby, but out of the way.

Finally, the first officer motioned for Akane to stand and she did. "All right, you're in the clear. Thank you for your cooperation," he said. "There's already a warrant out for Ms. Shampoo. I don't see any knife cuts on you, so I guess you can just go home." The officer never noticed that Akane was hiding her right palm from his inspection. "You may want to have that bruise looked at though."

Akane just nodded her head. "We will take her to the Ono Clinic right now," Akari said. The officer just nodded and let them go.

Once they were out of sight, Akane motioned for them to stop and then spit out a mouthful of blood. "Damn, that bitch hits hard!" she said.

"Let me see," Akari insisted. After a look under a street light, she said: "You sliced up the inside of your cheek pretty good, but I don't think you'll need stitches."

"I had help," Akane muttered. "My hand is a mess too. I only stopped the bleeding and patched it enough so it works – it still hurts a lot."

"Yeah, well Shampoo's going to be feeling it as well when the battle fury wears off," Ryoga told her. "I know I heard at least two ribs snap and you gave her some pretty impressive burns. Honestly, I didn't think she was that tough."

"Trust me, she is," Akane answered.

"You did really well though," Akari offered.

Akane smiled briefly. "It's funny. Many times I've dreamed about pounding Shampoo, but when I finally get the chance, there was no anger or fury about it. I just did it because I needed to protect Ranma."

"I think that comes from being a true warrior," Ryoga said with a raised eyebrow.

"I think it comes from being an adult," Akari shot back. A concerned looks flashed across her face. "Honey, it just occurred to me that we are letting you lead. How do you know where the clinic is?"

Ryoga pointed down the street. "You mean the place that is lit up like a Christmas tree?"

* * *

><p>Shampoo stared at the clinic in despair. There were cops and ninjas everywhere. The two broken windows were heavily guarded. There were police cruisers parked in the backyard as well as on the front sidewalk. There were also various martial artists mixed in here and there. Shampoo was sure she recognized Waitress-Boy on the roof in his fighting silks. She hunkered down in her hiding spot and listened to the men and women talking quietly.<p>

From the gossip, she gathered that Mousse and Cologne were in the hospital, but Cologne wasn't waking up and Mousse was in a bad way. Doctor Tofu was with Mousse trying to stop the bleeding, but Shampoo knew that was impossible as long as Ranma was alive. Meanwhile, they kept administering blood to the boy. No one knew why Cologne would not wake up, but Shampoo knew the Elder would be conscious by midnight and back to herself in a few days.

Shampoo watched as Akane, Ryoga, and Akari came into view. Despite the beating Shampoo had given Akane and the massive bruise on her face, Akane walked up to the clinic without support. People didn't speak to Akane, but just nodded or smiled and then stepped aside. "A warrior's welcome," Shampoo thought. "Unfortunately, it is appropriate. Things would have been easier if it wasn't." Shampoo snorted as embellished versions of the fight were described by those standing outside after Akane had gone in, but she did have to admit to the conclusion: Akane had fought her to a draw. "You did well, Sister, but please forgive me if I don't congratulate you," Shampoo said in the silence of her mind.

After half-an hour, she saw Inspector Ojima come outside and lean against the corner of the building. Sergeant Imia soon appeared next to him. "Did you understand any of that Inspector?" the Sergeant asked.

"Yes, I did. The short and the quick of it is Ranma's out of danger. The spirit trapped inside of him can't touch him anymore. It's just a matter of time until it is dead," the Inspector answered. Shampoo closed her eyes in misery. The Inspector continued: "The big mystery is what the hell is it? Ranma trying to find out before it's lost to him."

"Why is it still there at all if it can't touch him?" Imia asked.

"It's being held there by something," the Inspector shrugged. "Damned if I know what it is…"

Shampoo sighed. She knew exactly what holding it there – the damned (in more ways than one) knife. The spirit was bound by the knife until the spirit exhausted itself, and the knife was indestructible. It could not be broken and there wasn't a furnace hot enough to destroy it. "Nothing can destroy…" Shampoo started silently and then stopped. The image of a melted sword came back to her. "Is that really possible? How powerful is Akane?" Shampoo thought. She continued to grapple with the new idea. "If the original demon was still in the blade, she couldn't do it, but it's not! I need to get that knife!" she decided.

* * *

><p>AN: Footnotes:

(1) "Shishen" is an Amazon word introduced in Chapter 7 of "The Date – The Flip-Side". The word literally means "Die well in battle." It was what comrades said to each other before the final charge – the maneuver they knew they wouldn't win, but they we determined to take as many of the enemy with them as they could. Apparently, you can also say it to an enemy you respect, but the understanding is one of you will not be around at the end of the battle. There may be more to the concept as well – but we will have to wait and see.

(2) Akane, Ranma, and Ryoga became spiritually linked as the result of their actions in "The Destruction of Ranma Saotome – Ignition". Before that, Ranma and Ryoga were already linked as we found out in "Brothers".

* * *

><p>AN: Next up - The Spirit


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